STURGES

Franklin County Commissioners asked school staff to negotiate for at least three more weeks before it would exercise eminent domain over 30 acres for a new elementary school site.

School Board Attorney Boyd Sturges told commissioners on Monday night that they had reached an impasse with two trustees for the property on Long Mill Road.

“We’re at the point where we need to use these powers to condemn the property or go elsewhere,” Sturges told commissioners. “We have negotiated in good faith and we have not been able to reach an agreement.”

Sturges said neither the asking price, $35,000 an acre, nor any other negotiable issues appeared to be the cause of the stalemate.

“It’s an internal matter between a brother and a sister (who are the trustees),” Sturges said.

School Board officials, who were on hand Monday night, said significant delays caused by looking for a new site would push back the opening of a new elementary school.

The elementary school is slated to open in time for the 2008-2009 school year.

“That’s based on a 14-month construction schedule,” said Superintendent Bert L’Homme. “That’s very tight because it’s usually 18 months.

“If we postpone any action, we have to look at opening the following school year,” L’Homme said. “It’s very time sensitive.”

Still, Commissioner Sidney Dunston felt strongly that all options should be explored before the county exercised eminent domain, condemned a property and essentially took it from a Franklin County landowner.

“It’s very simple,” Dunston said. “I want to make sure that all avenues have been exhausted.

“The explanation (that members of the trust can’t agree) was not good enough,” Dunston said. “It takes two to negotiate and this appears like it’s one-sided.”

Dunston said he believes the school system should take efforts to find someone who could work with members of the trust to effect a solution.

“It seems like it should be someone to get the trustees on the same page to whether they’ll either sell or not,” Dunston said. “I understand that’s the No. 1 site, but from my perspective, that choice was based upon someone willing to sell or at least negotiate.

“To me it doesn’t seem that all avenues have been exhausted.”

School officials said the prospect of looking at another site now are remote.

The site was chosen by a committee of staff, administrators and parents as the best location for a new elementary school to serve the Youngsville and Franklinton area.

Architect Jon Long said about six months of surveys and other work to prepare the site have already been invested.

“Basically, that site is ready to go,” Long said.

If the county does decide to exercise eminent domain, the issue could be costly.

If the county condemns the property, they would be able to begin plans to build a new school almost immediately.

However, the matter could be taken to the courts if the county and the property owners are not able to work out a satisfactory selling price.

Although the school system has proposed $35,000 an acre, it is not a price that has been agreed upon by trustees by any means.

If the condemnation goes to a jury, that body would ultimately be responsible for determining how much the county pays for the property.

The $35,000 is what school staff figures is fair market value, but a jury is not bound by those parameters.

“It could wind up costing us a lot more money,” said Commissioner Don Lancaster.

The board’s decision to postpone the matter until its April 2 meeting was unanimous.

In other business, Franklin County, Commissioners agreed to lobby legislators for the authority to enact a 1/2-cent sales tax increase to pay for new school construction.

The board made a similar request in 2004, but it never made it through the Senate. Commissioners decided Monday to take the matter to the newly installed legislative body.

“We need to find ways to pay for school construction,” said Commission Chairman Lyn Buffaloe. According to finance figures, a 1/2-cent sales tax increase would have generated more than $1.4 million this past fiscal year.

Commissioner Bob Winters wondered why the board didn’t wait to see how a proposed statewide sales tax increase would pan out before requesting their own.

Other commissioners said that often, a local bill can have better success than a statewide bill, depending on the legislation.

Commissioner Harry Foy, though, opposed such a request.

“People say that a sales tax increase doesn’t place the burden on taxpayers, but it won’t hurt them only if they don’t buy anything,” he said. “To say that property owners don’t feel it is not true.”

To further his argument in support for a statewide change rather than a local bill, Winters said if the county has a higher sales tax than surrounding counties, people might take their business to those counties.

“It doesn’t affect someone going into the store to pick up small items,” he said, “but if they’re making a large purchase, like a car, the matter of sales tax could send them elsewhere.”

Buffaloe, who said he felt strongly about the proposal, made the motion to request that Sen. Doug Berger introduce the local option legislation for Franklin County.

“To think that we can just sit here and fold our arms and not spend another dime ... that just doesn’t work,” he said.

The decision was reached by a majority.

•Commissioners gave its Tourism Development Authority approval to contract administrative services with the Greater Franklin County Chamber of Commerce.

The TDA was established to help determine how occupancy tax money is spent to market and promote the county as a tourism location.

The TDA is looking to provide the Chamber with $7,500 a year in exchange for administrative tasks, including taking calls for the TDA; accepting TDA mail deliveries as the group has no central office; keeping up with grant applications of those seeking TDA assistance; adding tourism-related events on the Chamber’s Web site, as well as the state Division of Tourism page; and creating a monthly TDA e-newsletter of tourism-related events.

The county has collected $55,755 since the occupancy tax was instituted in February of 2006. The contract is just for one year and would be re-examined.

• Commissioners also heard a presentation from county Planning Director Pat Young relative to the work that’s under way to rewrite the county’s Comprehensive Land Use Plan.

The work will require a 20-person oversight committee, made up of the county’s planning board and six representatives from Louisburg, Youngsville, Franklinton, Lake Royale, Bunn and Centerville.

The board agreed to use those parameters to make appointments to the committee, which is expected to have completed its charge of reviewing and making necessary recommendations for zoning and planning changes by April of 2008.

• Commissioners committed to appointing representatives from the board of commissioners, the planning board, the airport board, the Kerr-Tar Hub board, the economic development commission, the Committee of 100, the county’s home builders association and two residents to form the Small Area Plan Advisory Committee. That group will be charged with examining growth issues around the airport and hub site to determine the best way to keep residential growth from infringing on industrial development. That group’s recommendations are expected within six months.