Yellow Pages
BURLINGTON — The Burlington-Edison School Board voted Monday to declare 20 acres of land as surplus and available for sale.
The vote was one step of many that could eventually lead to the sale of the land at Bow Hill and Ershig roads, as the district seeks ways to delay insolvency.
The land was recently appraised at $150,000 to $180,000. The vote, though unanimous, was preceded by exchanges between the public and board members about whether to sell the land.
The property contains extensive wetlands and only one home could be built on the property, said Finance Director Joe Stewart.
The appraisal sets a floor for bids on the property. The district bought the property in 1990 for $57,000 from the State Department of Natural Resources, said School Board President Liza Bott. According to state law, the district cannot sell the property for less than 90 percent of appraised value. The earliest the board could put the land up for sale is Jan. 21, Bott said.
During public comment, several people cautioned the board against selling the property, including Lynn Black, a former School Board member who was on the board in 1990.
The money from the land sale will help the district pay down the debt on two other property purchases that threaten to cause the district’s insolvency within a few years.
In 2004 and 2007, School Board members voted to buy property north of the high school and at Peterson and Pulver roads using interest-only, nonvoted bonds. The district has nearly $7.5 million in debt from those two bond issues, including interest, and there is currently no revenue stream.
Burlington resident Oscar Lagerlund said the price of the land is hardly worth selling if district officials plan to put it toward the district’s mounting debt.
Board member Mike Dynes said if the district could mitigate the wetlands to make a buildable lot, the district should keep it.
“The only reason to liquidate it is to stay solvent,” Dynes said. “That elephant is in the room. ... We’re going to have to give it a hard look.”
Stewart said the board doesn’t have to sell the land, even after taking bids from the public.
“(The decision) doesn’t lock in the district to sell (the property),” Stewart said.
Kate Martin can be reached at 360-416-2145 or at kmartin@skagit publishing.com.
