The sale of a prime parcel of land in Palm Coast would have generated some much needed revenue for the Flagler County School District, but a majority of School Board members voted to wait for the property to increase in value.
BUNNELL — Once again, the Flagler County School Board has turned aside a request to sell a prime parcel of land in the heart of Palm Coast, but this time the vote was far from unanimous.
It was, in fact, a tie. But that was enough to defeat a motion by board member Andy Dance to sell the 7.44-acre property located at One Corporate Drive.
Voting Tuesday to accept the $2.5 million offer were Dance and board chair Trevor Tucker. Voting to reject it were board member Colleen Conklin and vice chair Janet McDonald.
Board member Maria Barbosa attended the meeting remotely by conference call, but a technological glitch rendered her responses inaudible for much of the meeting. When that problem was resolved, the board learned that Barbosa had cast her vote against the motion, leaving the result unchanged.
The offer by developer Michael Collard Properties in Winter Park was the latest in a series of occasional inquiries received after April 2016 when a large dilapidated building at the site was demolished. Each time, the board has resisted the temptation to sell.
Selling the property at the intersection of Palm Coast Parkway NW and Corporate Drive could have generated much-needed funds for capital expenses, including school bus purchases.
The district operates about 100 buses over 86 routes. It needs to buy 10 new ones each year to keeping the aging fleet fresh. But at $113,000 a bus, funds have been insufficient to keep up. The district purchased seven buses this year, up from two in each of the last two years.
In March, the board voted to have the parcel appraised and advertise for bids while leaving intact the option to refuse them.
Two appraisals were received, one for $1.75 million, the other for $2 million. By comparison, the highest of three proposals received in 2013-14 was $1.56 million, signifying an increase in the value of the property.
“We are at the beginning of an expanding market,” said McDonald. “The other properties on Palm Coast Parkway are valued much higher, and they are closing at a much higher rate.”
Property values in Flagler County rose more than 7 percent according preliminary estimates from Property Appraiser Jay Gardner.
“I’m not certain that now is the time to let go of that property,” said Conklin.
The district bought the land in March 2001 for $3.5 million. Adjusting for inflation, that would be nearly $5 million in May 2018 dollars, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The board tried to sell the property in 2015 for a minimum bid of $2.3 million but got no takers.