Land deal inches closer

NORWALK — The long-awaited land deal between Huron County commissioners and the Norwalk Schools board inched closer to completion Tuesday when commissioners Tom Dunlap and Harry Brady voted 2-0 to accept the changes in the deal made by Huron County Prosecutor James Sitterly's office and legal counsel for the board, Bricker Graydon. Both Dunlap and Brady voted to approve the changes with the third county commissioner, Brad Mesenburg, abstaining at the countu prosecutor's advice because of a possible conflict of interest stemming from Mesenburg's involvement in a family trucking business that might bid on contracts for the project. Mesenburg's abstention has been a point of contention between the board and the commission. The land deal is tied to a proposed Norwalk Schools project, which involves the construction of an entirely new elementary/middle, or pre-K-8, school on Shady Lane Drive designed to have an "open campus" with Norwalk High School. Norwalk Schools has secured a public bond that pays approximately $48 million for the construction, with the state funding the rest of the nearly $100 million project, which could be the largest single construction project in city history. The exact deal will see the board purchase just over 13 acres on Shady Lane Drive from the county for $30,000 per acre and "swap" 14 acres, including the plat containing Main Street Intermediate School. According to the deal, the board will be responsible to demolish and remediate the school property and turn it over to the county as a "bare, buildable lot." Brady expressed interest in seeing the deal move forward quickly, telling Randy Strickler there is already a "verbal" commitment to the deal from the commission. "We're at this point right now and I don't want to see us being a stopping point since I won't be here next week. We've already given verbal approval. We're on the record as saying it," Brady said. Strickler agreed with the commissioners, telling them the deal "has everything we want," but there are two points of contention: The number of acres and their exact location on the plat map and the projected cost of environmental testing on the parcel. Final hurdle? The seemingly final point of contention between the board and the commission centers around the cost of environmental testing and potential remediation, according to Norwalk Schools superintendent Brad Cooley. Strickler's final proposal contains language requiring the board to pay for "phase 1" testing and possible remediation of hazards at the Main Street School property. "It is something we are going to have to iron out," Cooley said. "I'm not sure how much it could potentially cost the district to test and remediate, especially since we are not getting any guarantee at the property we are buying." Despite the issue, both the commission and the board seem ready to get the deal finished. "I am very confident that we can get the acceptance signed in a special meeting next week and have the commissioners sign it during their meeting in late July," he said.