The ongoing debate concerning the Old Bethel School building turned a new corner last Thursday at the Cabarrus County Budget work session when the commissioners voted to begin accepting bids on the property located in Midland.
Commissioner H. Jay White Sr. made a motion to accept new bids on the Old Bethel School with bids beginning at $10,000 with no restrictions.
Last year the county began the process of selling the property to Woodson University for $10,000 with certain restrictions on the sale preventing the university from reselling the property and making a profit on it. The sale did not go through, and Woodson eventually withdrew its offer.
Commissioners considered offering the property to the Town of Midland to facilitate an upset bid process on the property or to be used to benefit the public. Midland Councilmember Mike Tallent expressed the town’s concern of the continued deterioration of the building and the inability of the town to afford the building.
“We don’t have the money to afford the building. We don’t have the tax base for it, and we can’t afford this building,” said Tallent. “Right now we have a school sitting there rotting. Everyday we let it sit, it’s getting worse. We have an opportunity today to take it off of the County’s shoulders and give it a chance.”
Midland suggested selling the property to Woodson in the amount of $1 to the disagreement of Cabarrus County Commissioners Jay White and Larry Burrage.
“I have a hard time giving the property away at $1 when it’s worth one million dollars,” said White. “I prefer someone to take and use it then give it away for $1 when we had $10,000. Giving it away for $1 with no demands on it doesn’t make sense to me.”
The motion was passed with a beginning bidding amount of $10,000 and an ending period for bidding to be June 29 at noon.
“We want it to get the best opportunity possible for it to be used for the public good. We want it to move forward and have the best chances,” said Tallent.
Jun 042012