City has buyer for Battersby property
Published 10:23 am Thursday, December 11, 2008
By Kevin Hanson-The Courier-Herald
The average Enumclaw citizen will never have to decide how to spend $1.76 million.
That, however, is exactly the pleasant situation city officials will soon face, having made the decision to sell a major real estate holding to private enterprise.
City Council members voted July 23 to accept an offer from Dan Hatch and his Clearly Dynamics firm for the purchase of parcels at 911 and 945 Battersby Avenue. Hatch and his company already operated out of the smaller parcel, which formerly housed Del's Farm Supply.
The much larger building at 911 Battersby is the former home of Industrial Skills, which existed to provide opportunities for, and teach life skills to, those with developmental disabilities.
The city wound up owning both parcels without investing a cent.
Years ago, Industrial Skills was poised to take over the properties, but needed a governmental entity to act as lead agency in making the acquisition. The city of Enumclaw stepped up, took control in name only and leased the property to Industrial Skills for a token annual payment.
When Industrial Skills folded, the city took ownership free and clear.
After some much-needed cleanup and repair work, the city began offering the 911 building to tenants. Del's eventually moved to more visible quarters in town, but the city quickly found a new tenant.
Eventually, council members tired of being landlords and agreed the properties should be put on the market.
Hatch and his financial backers provided the best deal and council members unanimously accepted his bid.
Mayor John Wise said the council will ultimately decide what to do with the money, but he definitely has some ideas.
Rather than tossing the entire sum into one project, Wise hopes the financial windfall will be used for a variety of purposes.
He would like to use a portion of the profits for a variety of capital improvements to existing city facilities. Other dollars could be dropped into a pot for future construction of a community center, a project Wise has long supported. And some of the proceeds should go into social service, the mayor said, since it was a social service agency that got the city involved in the first place.
In other business July 23, council members:
€ heard from Heather Lofgren, representing Plateau Outreach Ministries, and Gary Heminger, on behalf of Enumclaw Youth and Family Services. Both were on hand to give quarterly reports.
Lofgren said POM “continues to do well at supporting low-income and homeless families in our community.
The operation helped 131 families during the last quarter,” she said, including 79 Enumclaw residents. Many, she said, “are still trying to pay off their winter utility bills.” Another concern, Lofgren said, is “the growing number of people being evicted” from their homes.
POM's food back, she said, was able to continue feeding the needy largely thanks to a donation of 1,200 pounds of non perishable food from Boy Scout Pack 500. The group collected the food from 700 local donors.
POM's primary source of revenue is its More Pennies From Heaven thrift store, which averaged sales of $7,739 during the quarter, Lofgren said.
Heminger said Enumclaw Youth and Family Services helped 90 kids during the quarter and 88 of those were from within Enumclaw's city limits. The operation has been busy with activities like hiking, going to the zoo and enjoying a water park, he said.
Heminger said the center received a needed facelift recently, when the Windermere Foundation repainted the facility.
€ learned that an agreement has been signed for the design of the long-anticipated Welcome Center. The facility, to be built on city-owned land between the golf course and the Enumclaw Expo Center fieldhouse (Pete's Pool), will eventually house the U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service and Enumclaw Chamber of Commerce.
€ heard that expansion of the city's wastewater treatment plant is drawing close. Public Works Director Chris Searcey reported that project bids have been called for, a contract should be awarded in September and construction could begin in October.
Expansion of the plant will bring an end to the building moratorium that has stifled Enumclaw's growth for most of the past decade.
€ were briefed on two upcoming events by Larry Fetter, who heads the city's Parks, Recreation and Cultural Service Department. The bronze sculpture recently installed on the grounds of City Hall, “Boys in the Band,” will be featured in an unveiling celebration at 5:30 p.m. Aug. 11. He also reminded everyone of the annual Art Walk, also beginning at 5:30 p.m. Aug. 11, which will take over Cole Street between Initial and Marshall avenues.
Kevin Hanson can be reached at khanson@cmg-northwest2.go-vip.net/courierherald.
