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CCIDC board members removed
By Courtney Burleson, Managing Editor
It wasn't the happiest of times Tuesday night, July 29 as two Columbus Community and Industrial Development Corporation board members were removed from their positions and negotiations for an ongoing land sale remained stagnant.
In a 3-2 vote, Columbus City Council members removed CCIDC president Chuck Rankin and fellow board member James Whitcomb, effective immediately.
"All I have to say is I have a lack of confidence in these two individuals and that's as far as I'm going with it," said Columbus Mayor Richard Heffley who made it clear to audience members he alone was responsible for the decision. "It's nothing personal, sometimes things just don't work out."
The motion to remove Rankin and Whitcomb, upon the mayor's request, was made by councilman John Wagner and seconded by councilwoman Sandra Frnka. Councilmen Bruce Tesch and Jim Jack Richardson opposed the motion.
"It's hard to remove a man when we don't know what he's done," said Richardson as he received applause from the audience. "We're talking about citizens of Columbus. To remove a man from an appointed office who was good enough to be put there in the first place, I better have some good hard facts."
Councilwoman Frnka described Rankin and Whitcomb as good men and said she regretted this had to happen.
Councilman Curtiss Schonenberg abstained. Schonenberg serves on both the CCIDC board and the city council.
Council then approved the appointment of councilman Wagner and former CCIDC board member John Axel.
In a later phone interview, Whitcomb said the decision was water under the bridge and it is the city's loss.
"All I did was try to help and no one wanted my help," said Whitcomb.
Rankin said that while he understands it is the mayor's prerogative to remove CCIDC members, he believes the decision was inappropriate.
"The seven member board has consistently acted in a cooperative and collaborative manner," said Rankin. "The mayor's comment was there was no synergy, but there was."
Rankin has been on the CCIDC for approximately five years and Whitcomb for two years.
CCIDC vice president Jerry Haluska who is now serving at interim president was perplexed by the council's decision.
"The removal of two high performing members of CCIDC at this critical time is not understandable or explainable by me," said Haluska. "We were at the cusp of the first sale with a company putting down earnest money at the Industrial Park in 10 years."
Haluska did not give names but stated that he has received indications that a majority of the remaining CCIDC board members will be resigning following Tuesday's events.
Former Columbus Convention and Visitors Bureau President LoriAn Gobert addressed council stating that she had worked with Rankin on several other boards and he was nothing but an asset.
Theut, CCIDC
land sale negotiations
Regarding recent land negotiation discussions between Theut Glass and CCIDC things went nowhere Tuesday night.
Listed on the agenda was action to authorize CCIDC to negotiate with the Theuts for the purchase of real property not to exceed 6.5 acres at the north and west intersection of Crossroads Boulevard and Texas Avenue in the Columbus Industrial Park at the price of $20,000 per acre.
"The Theut deal is a perfect example of what CCIDC set forth as their mission since 2006; attract and retain businesses through the use of incentives," said Rankin in a later phone interview.
Discussions started with councilman John Wagner giving a scenario beginning Friday, July 25, following the city council meeting the previous night, in which there were talks regarding the Theut negotiations. Wagner said he came to the conclusion that $20,000 an acre was reasonable and he could sell that price to council.
"Land north of the Industrial Park and across the river was just in negotiations for $17,000 an acre and that was with no road, lights, sewer, etc.," said Wagner.
He then stated that he showed up at Rusty Theut's office unannounced and shared his thoughts on the $20,000 an acre offer.
Wagner said it was a risk for both sides.
"There was risk for the city and the Theuts," said Wagner. "The city risks selling the land for less than appraised value and the Theuts risk paying more than the appraised value."
Wagner continued, stating that Friday afternoon he received a call from Stan Theut accepting the offer and that he wanted to meet with Wagner Monday morning.
"I immediately called the mayor and asked him to call a special meeting to approve the deal and that's how we got here tonight," said Wagner.
Wagner then claimed that on Monday morning, Stan Theut rejected the $20,000 an acre offer and wanted to go back to a previous offer of $16,000 an acre.
In a June 17 memo, CCIDC through city manager David Meisell, offered a five-acre tract south of Crossroads Boulevard at $16,000 per acre for a total cash price of $80,000.
Following Wagner's narrative, Rusty Theut addressed council stating he was present when Stan Theut made the call to Wagner on Friday and the basic conversation was "let's get together and talk about it" regarding the $20,000 an acre price.
Rusty stated during the meeting that there was no animosity on anyone's part regarding the situation.
"It's just a business deal," said Theut.
Mayor Heffley did state that once the city received a market value appraisal, the Theut's would have some basis to possibly receive incentives to move into the Industrial Park.
Wagner distributed a price protection document for Theut Glass Companies to council members Tuesday night, dated July 29, with criteria for the $20,000 an acre price. The document included criteria such as maintaining an average number of employees, size range of acreage, company revenue goals and the company's capital expenditure guidelines. The price protection was limited to 24 months. Theut told council Tuesday night was the first he had seen of the document.
"It's just a recap, I prepared it after I talked to your dad [Friday]," said Wagner.
Based on a July 28 letter from Stan Theut rebuking the flat offer of $20,000 an acre council took no action on the agenda item.
"On Friday there was an offer and verbal acceptance," said Meisell. "Monday an offer was made and has now been rejected."
The first sentence of the letter states, "While we appreciate the city's decision to lift the moratorium for the benefit of our negotiations, we can not accept a flat offer of $20,000 an acre."
While Rusty Theut agrees the letter denies the $20,000 an acre offer, in a later interview he said the July 28 letter that was quoted during the meeting as a rejection was actually a counterproposal sent at the suggestion of councilman Wagner.
"It was based on similar properties being offered in surrounding communities, although these offers are lower than what we proposed," said Rusty Theut. "We are very disappointed that Meisell and councilman Wagner chose to attack us when a simple yes or no vote would have sufficed."
The letter also states that the property under negotiations sits on the tax rolls for $17,900 an acre. Stan Theut also made suggestions for setting a benchmark of $20,000 or higher for future negotiations by crediting money from future year's sales and ad valorem taxes to the $16,000 and finding a number to use as a starting point for future negotiations.
During the meeting Rusty Theut asked council to approve the $20,000 and begin negotiations with that number and work down from there.
"If the appraisal comes in at $30,000 how low do you want us to discount?" asked Wagner.
Rusty Theut said he just wanted the city to recognize the value of the deal.
Council agreed they needed to wait on a certified real estate appraisal before any land negotiations are started regarding the Industrial Park.
"According to conversation with our legal counsel, the land cannot be sold less than market value without council approval," said Heffley.
In a July 7 letter from CCIDC, it states that two accredited real estate appraisal companies have been contacted and CCIDC is searching for others. It also states that CCIDC has assigned a subcommittee to collect the proposals and retain a firm to provide a written appraisal. During the meeting, before his removal, Rankin told council that he requested the appraisals be received by the regular CCIDC meeting scheduled for Aug. 18 but both firms had indicated a 4 to 6-week turnaround.
When asked about whether the Theut's would keep their business in the city limits Rusty Theut said while that has been his intentions all along, he's not sure of the reality of it.
"Unfortunately, it seems unlikely that it will be in the city limits," said Rusty Theut.
Howell development
Also discussed was Frank Howell's request for property development west of Shult Drive, which also brought some adverse reactions.
Meisell began by going over concerns with the property including access and drainage. He noted that access to the property was limited and stated that the area wasn't projected by the city as one of growth.
Frank Howell approached council asking for guidance and asked for reassurance that if he spent the money for an engineer's report he would be able to develop the property.
"As long as it meets the specifications of our ordinance," said Mayor Heffley.
Following discussion, Howell said he had gotten negative vibes from the city regarding his project.
"It is my job to identify problems and make sure they are resolved before it goes too far," countered Meisell.
Editor's Note: Negotiations between the city of Columbus and Theut Glass has sparked interests and street commentary from many. Now it's time for those voices to be heard either through letters to the editor or contacting council members directly. Do you think the council should do whatever it takes to keep the Theut's business in town or do you think the city should wait for a certified appraisal and go from there? Now is the time to let council know where the community stands on this issue. Follow the prompts below to post a blog comment.
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