Have all the concerns brought up at the 10.2.2017 TOF Council Meeting regarding the above mentioned” barley field sale” been adequately addressed?
- Has the boundary encroachment with the Ball Field been rectified?
- Have the potential hazards of buried tanks and other buried waste been professionally addressed?
- Has the Competitive Market Analysis been completed and thoroughly reviewed to ensure that the Town of Fromberg’s 10 acre parcel (having been deemed to be within city limits) is being sold at fair market value?
Once again, lots of questions. The Mayor simply seems uninterested in answering what we, the citizenry wish to know. We seem to have no input other than paying increased fees and taxes. Talk about Taxation without Representation!
Why sell an irreplaceble assest. There needs to be alot of discusion by the town and the next administration. There are endless posibilities for this land that could benefit the town in the near future. After all council has stated what great financial shape we are in. This whole current deal stinks bad. What is going on.
Scott Advocate: The property is only a irreplaceable asset, if we had done something with it years ago. No one has ever had the gumption to step up and say, this could be done and here are the figures to prove it. I suggested , perhaps an RV campsite and got as far as the starting costs before I was cut off and laughed at. Another lady in attendance asked why the council couldn’t come up with ways to have sustainable and continuous income to the town. Did you hear anyone say “hey, that’s a good idea”? Not really, except people who supported the sale had a lot to say. Yes, the deal stinks, and yes not only this council, but previous councils and Mayor could have looked seriously about investment and come up with some good ideas. But everyone seemed content to sit on their thumbs until it was actually in the works to sell and then, all of a sudden it was a big deal. It was a big deal to some, including me. I really believed the town could do something with it, but when you don’t have a lot of support from a council who can’t come up with an original thought if their lives depended on it, what do you do??? As I said, you have to pick your battles, but there are ways to still win the war.
A comparative Market Analysis has been done and given to council to review. Although the council had no involvement in which agent to choose to do it. As far as the “possibility” of tanks and junk vehicles are concerned, the prospective buyers said they would agree to disclosure.
The encroachment of ball-field was discussed VERY briefly, and as of this time no agreement has been reached that I am aware of, although the possibility of an easement was brought up.
There should be discussion as to restrictions . If they decide to sell the property (and they will), restrictions should be placed on the use … with the lagoons soon to be constructed, any financial gain that has connections to town business should not be allowed. The Mayor at one time stated he has 14 acres they could use to park equipment on, he can do that… free of charge, but cannot use his property for financial gain for one year after leaving office. Restrictions should be placed on any piece of property owned and sold by the town. These concerns are the only ethical way for the situation to be handled and the council as a whole should be looking at all the concerns involved with the sale of this property.
To be sure, the sale will put extra money into town funds, but I still believe that the town has the ability to invest in itself and use that property in a useful way to add funding to the town in perpetuity. The community at large should have a voice in this and I really encourage people to use that voice.
My uderstanding is this sale in place from an old old resolution that ran it’s course
And failed. Was a new one voted on by current council. If not why. Shoud not the people here be made aware and have a say. Why the council can’t brain storm and come up with uses for the land that benefit the town and not private self serving interests. This whole thing is unbelievable. Come to the meeting tomorrow and watch the show for yourself. The Anderson-Perkins-Price team are going to push this despite any protest from the people or other members of council.
If the Town Council is officially in receipt of said Comparative Market Analysis, it only seems fair to post here:
1. Who prepared said CMA.
2. How much CMA preparation cost.
3. What value was ascertained for the 10 acre parcel through said CMA.
Does the water get murky when Leza Vargas etal initially placed bid on said 10 acres, all bids then being rejected, and subsequently after advertisement of parcel her father-in-law is considered the prospective buyer? And during the time when Leza Vargas, Realtor is actively running for Fromberg Mayor?
Wouldn’t it seem prudent to postpone “Barley Field Sale” until after the 2017 election, 4 days hence?
The council got a copy of said contract the Wednesday of the following week. As I reviewed it, a few questions popped up. The offers were opened at the October meeting and Mr. Vargas had the highest offer. I will have to go back and check, but I don’t believe the council voted to accept the offer.
The contract that we received, had a closing date of 2 November 2017, five days before the meeting at which a resolution was presented to council to sell the property. Although bids closed on 29 September, and the normal closing of 30-90 days was in play, I am at a loss as to why it was dated to close BEFORE the resolution was presented for a vote. Was it a done deal before the meeting and resolution presented for a vote??? Things like this give me a giant headache and cause many, many questions.
Recently, I have learned (thought so before) : Once one recuses themselves from a vote, they cannot go back and say “I have changed my mind” as the Mayor did , after his very verbal announcement, saying “I am not pushing for this sale.” Just as Jeff Sessions, US Attorney General, after his recusal, cannot change his mind. BUT, I think he (Mayor) realized that without a voice in a tie vote, the issue would die and he wouldn’t have that.
I had voiced my opinions as to the ethics of this entire proceeding from the beginning. It has been a rollercoaster of unethical proportions and some very valid and serious concerns have been pushed aside. Once again, I am kicking myself hard.
The reason the sale of the barley field was not postponed, is obvious. A new administration might not be so hell bent to push it through , even if Mrs. Vargas got elected as Mayor, the new council may have disagreed with the sale.
Now the proposed plan was to have Mr. Vargas build a home on the property and use one acre for a community garden, but of as late, I have had several people tell me that there are plans to sub-divide…. rumor?? Possibly. But there again, it would have to be approved by the council, before all the steps are taken through the County. There are a lot of steps to go through in that sort of endeavor, so I doubt if that is the plan.
I have no doubt that Mr. and Mrs. Vargas plan to remain a integral part of this community and will work with the community to do what they can to make it better. My concern and criticism is not of the Vargas’, it is with the way the Mayor handled this whole process.
At this juncture, we (the community and Council) need to focus on the reasons for which we were elected and leave the petty stuff to someone else.
The comparative Analysis was done by one Jacqueline Taylor, R.E. Professionals, Billings, MT. I am not sure when she was contacted to do this, but the council received this last week. It was not discussed with council or decision made by council to have Ms. Taylor or any other Realtor in the area do the report. The end result is: Listing Price, between $45,000 and $83,000… selling price: $47,000 – $55,000.
Of the lands listed as comparable , only on was listed with water rights available, one listed at 20 acres , one at 22 acres with some improvements, listed at $67,500 – $83,900. Although some had wells in place, there were none with irrigated acres.
We did not pass a resolution to sell the land as surplus property, which would have been the first and ethical step to take, after discussion with council before hand to sell or not to sell.
There have been several ideas on what could be done with the property, one idea from a town employee. There are other viable ides out there, but instead of coming up with ways for the town to invest in itself, some members of the council are hell bent on selling it. Unfortunately, the community is not , or doesn’t care to be aware of the towns business. After asking for copies of the sealed bids, I was told the Mayor had them at his residence. The council got copies Friday, to review. I have repeatedly voiced my concerns about the handling of this whole process, but it is like spitting in the wind. I have also repeatedly advised and encouraged people to attend the meetings, and the replies were, “Why ? They don’t care what we think or say.” How sad, that people are so disillusioned with town government. I sincerely hope that will change.
It is customary that a CMA have at least 3 comps. Both CMA’s and appraisals are requested by the agency in charge. They simply do not show up. An unsolicited CMA is reason for concern. There should be a clear delineation of who ordered it and under what authority. Certainly a CMA could have been prepared by someone in Carbon County. The “Barley Field’s” highest and best use is Residential, not Agricultural. Property prices in Fromberg have reportedy been going up significantly. Said 10 Acres (already deemed to be in the city limits) should easily be woth $10,000 an acre. After all this time what would one more day mean? ie Election Day. As a member of the Council you should be entitled to some sort of authority. We, as mere citizens of Fromberg are accorded none. We have beaten our heads against the wall until they are bloody. the fromberg.advocacy.com was instituted to put forth a level of accountability with regard to the Town of Fromberg. Now all official actions of the Town Council are out there in living color and black and white for all to see.
As I am not an expert in real estate, I can’t say how many comps are customary. An appraisal was discussed at the September meeting and as a CMA was performed at no cost, we went with that. The CMA was prepared by Jacqueline Taylor , who is resident of Bridger. That being said, the Mayor then contacted her for the analysis, the council received it on Wednesday before the Nov. meeting. I was not aware that she indeed resided in Carbon County at the time of the previous post and after talking to others in Bridger, found out that she did live there. I have often encouraged everyone to attend meetings and there are some who come regularly. Some do not agree with decisions made, but you have to pick your battles and deal with it later, which will happen. The citizens are accorded authority, your tax dollars give you that privilege of stating your agreements or dissatisfaction and anyone is free to express it. If elected I plan on at least a couple of days where I will be in City Hall and welcome anyone to discuss their concerns with me. We will have a long hard hill to climb and I am afraid it will be a battle with some, but it is a challenge I am up for. There has been a lot of feedback recently, a lot good, some not so good. I would like to see everyone come together for the good of the town. So, if you agree or disagree, at least work in a reasonable way to do what we have to.
I am sure that everyone who supported me for Mayor, is thinking right now, that I betrayed them. And perhaps I did in a way. At the meeting tonight there was a lot of discussion on the sale. Some people brought up the fact that ideas for future investment should have come to council years ago, instead of all of a sudden. I somewhat agree, but there have been suggestions floating around for awhile now and never brought to the council.
The Mayor stated that he was going to recuse himself from the vote and apologized to the Vargas’ and after some discussion, changed his mind and said that he would not recuse himself from the vote on the resolution. When he made that statement, I knew how it would turn out, and the deck was already stacked. At that point ( after a long silence) I made a motion to pass the resolution . Mr. Nottingham voted no, to his credit, he stuck to his guns.
So, I will apologize to those who think I am a traitor, and just say that some provisos can still be made on the sale. The town is still in possession of 9 lots north of the barley field and we should start thinking about doing something with those. The “bird in the hand” theory is fine, but $52,250 is not going to take us far.
The Vargas’ would not compromise to a 3month delay for other suggestions and of course Mike is already spending the money. The Mayor recently approved (without council) the purchase of a roller to fix the streets with. It was stated that the town has already spent over $10,000 on street repair this year. I have checked with Joliet and other towns that have had work done by a contractor and the repairs were less than that and a better job was done on the streets. Yes, the council should have some authority, at this point it is a divided council , with the Mayor breaking a tie. It is a moot point to vote against anything. So, please have faith and patience that things will get done if the elections go the direction we all hope they will.
Sorry I was not at my best tonight, but had some things going on too.
Once again it was all about the Mayor and what he has done for this town, at last nights meeting. Several people came up with good ideas . A lot of people were blamed for the problems in Fromberg, but it was not stated that a lot of those people have been at meetings time and time again to voice concerns about the problems, whether “trivial” or very important. And they have come to meetings long before I was on the council.
As for ideas on the barley field, one employee, in his usual demanding demeanor asked “why hasn’t anyone brought this before?”.
My question, where has the council and Mayor been all these long years, while the barley field just sat there? Where were their great ideas on how to invest in that land? Have we just been sitting on our thumbs? Where are the big ideas on investing in the town? Yes, it has been brought up in the last year, but only because, people who care about the town have started thinking about the prospects of investment. It seems that the council, Mayor and employees are content to sit around and do nothing until the last year or so. Now, they can make a few bucks, they have all sorts of reasons why we can’t invest. My personal opinion is, that they have been content doing nothing with that land. No work, no original thought, no vision.
The Vargas’ made an offer two years ago, why didn’t they jump on it then? Not as much money, but an offer. The Mayor was authorized by the council to negotiate… he did not!! Said he doesn’t remember that. After TWO years, all of a sudden another offer is made.
They have said they want to build a home for the father, if they were so determined to buy for that purpose, why didn’t they keep coming back in the last two years with a much better offer. Mrs. Vargas is a realtor and should know how to negotiate for land, if they were so interested, why not? The Vargas’ said they had waited for two years and they couldn’t wait for a few months for other options? The Mayor stated “I don’t care if we decide to sell or not, I’m not pushing the sale, I will be gone soon.” Really????
If questions don’t want to be answered at meetings, the Mayor doesn’t answer them .But he sure uses a lot of time to skirt around things.
The idea for an RV park was poo-pooed, with all kinds of reasons why it couldn’t be done. I was pretty much shut down with the starting investment it would take to implement the idea. Yes, we would need permits, inspections, appraisals and of course the dreaded visit from DEQ. But that will all happen anyway won’t it?
BUT… With the town employees putting in some elbow grease to hook up to city water and sewer, do some work(that nasty 4 letter word) on the field it could be done. Slowly , yes, but it could be done. There were already people in town that would volunteer time and work .
Two council members hardly ever say a word other than to make a motion or vote, or disagree with anything other than what the Mayor decides is good for the town. Where is their brainstorming for the betterment of Fromberg? Not a peep. Isn’t this their community also? Don’t they want us to thrive in some way? The gentleman sitting in front at the meeting last night, also asked why ideas were not brought to council long before this, did he or anyone else have a good plan on how to use the land? If not, why come and speak for the sale of the property? As I have stated, the town has had 20+ years to come up with a plan for that property. Why not????