County makes offer to sell group home to Pride Group

The Plymouth County Supervisors Tuesday approved a $300,000 offer, which would be paid over 15 years, with a 5 percent interest rate and no down payment.

The supervisors approved the offer 4-1 with Supervisor C. Gordon Green voting no.

Green said he wanted to offer $350,000 for a residential care facility (RCF) on Highway 3 along with Pride 1.

"How much are we going to keep paying to keep that building?" Green said. "That building could be empty if they all moved up here."

Supervisors Craig Anderson and Don Kass said they wanted to concentrate on selling one building at a time, and that Pride Group had not indicated an interest in purchasing the RCF at this time.

"It's best to keep it simple," Kass said. "It's in good shape structurally. It's a well-kept property."

Supervisor Chairman John Schneider also indicated the county wouldn't want to sell both buildings at the same time and create cash flow problems.

Anderson said the monthly payments, should Pride Group accept the offer, would be $2,380 and the county would make about $128,000 in interest throughout the life of the loan.

Sharon Nieman, Plymouth County's central point coordinator for human services, reminded supervisors that Pride 1 will be an empty building by Feb. 1 when its residents move out.

"Something needs to be done," Nieman said.

She added that Mike Porter, CEO of the Pride Group, who did not attend Tuesday's meeting, could decide, based on the offer that Pride 1 was no longer needed for the group's purposes.

"He would work with us and if it didn't work out it would stay a rental building," Nieman said.

"It is a huge asset to having Pride Group in town."

Darin Raymond, Plymouth County attorney, said because Pride 1 is classified as a commercial property, Iowa law says the supervisors can sell it directly to Pride Group without opening it up to other buyers.

But, he added, the board could determine if they wanted to solicit offers from interested parties should any come forward.

"It's a three-step process. Setting forth a proposal and a resolution, publish notice of a hearing on that proposal, and then having a public hearing before final determination," Raymond said.

The supervisors decided to sell Pride 1 as-is, meaning any county property within would be sold with the property.

Raymond will draft a letter of intent concerning the supervisors' offer that will be presented to Porter of Pride Group.