City has option to purchase old Southern 15 site
Sunday, December 13, 2009 - 10:52 pm
The vacant Southern 15 convenience store draws the traveler's eye because gasoline is listed for $1.06.9 per gallon.Now the City Council has taken steps to purchase the store and its lot for what some call the bargain price of $25,000.
At its Dec. 9 meeting, the City Council approved an option to purchase the property at 315 S. Fourth St, which is Nebraska Highway 15.
The city will pay a $2,500 fee reserve the first option to buy the property from Westland Enterprises of Atkinson. The option to purchase must be exercised by March 31, with the property changing ownership before May 13, according to city documents.
The site has been vacant since 1989. It recently has drawn the City Administrator Joe Johnson's interest as a possible site for a municipal building. No official site for a municipal building has been decided. Johnson recently traveled to Atkinson to talk to the owner and succeeded in arranging the sale.
He said he told the owner that the city was interested in possibly building on the property, or if not, in cleaning up David City.
"He said, 'I can respect that," and agreed to sell, Johnson said.
Mayor Dana Trowbridge said that the owner really had no incentive to do anything with the property, but he agreed on accepting $25,000 in cash if the city agreed to an appraisal of $50,000, providing a tax write-off of $25,000.
Johnson said the property probably has a value of $75,000.
Trowbridge said the existence of underground gasoline tanks on the property is a cause for concern, but the seller has stated that the State Fire Marshal has tested the tanks since the station closed and found no problems.
Johnson said the seller said the current tanks were installed in 1987 and used for two years until the station closed in 1989.
"The likelihood of us finding anything is pretty slim to none," Johnson said.
The city could remove the tanks, but special procedures would be required for disposing of them, Johnson said.
If the city does not build in the site, it represents prime highway frontage for the purchase price, Trowbridge said.
Councilman Bill Scribner said the city should grab the opportunity.
"I made the motion because I think that is a great economic development area there," Scribner said.
