miDITOR:
The issue before the commission today is whether or not to execute a warranty deed, granting to the health department ownership of the Platte City office building that they’ve been using since 1960. The health department is in contract to sell the building, but it turns out the building is actually owned by the county. The health department is an important member of the community, so normally I wouldn’t have an issue with this. But here’s the problem.
In mid-April 2020, during the height of a global pandemic, the health department started speculating on commercial real estate. Despite already owning two buildings, they decided to purchase a third building. According to the Platte County Landmark, the purchase price was $1.9 million and they used existing reserve funds for the purchase. What’s worse, they did this before selling, or even having contracts on their other two buildings.
And now, nearly three years after purchasing that third property, as they prepare to close on the sale of the Platte City property, the proceeds of which I’m sure are required to finance the new property, they discover that the county owns that building. What if it was owned by a private party, not interested in giving it back to the health department? Without that deed, this speculative real estate deal is in deep trouble. Complex commercial real estate deals like this are risky. Many things could, and still might, go wrong.
Think about it. This is the taxpayer-funded county health department in the middle of a devastating global panic. And yet here they are, making real estate deals they didn’t have to make. They purchased an office property at the height of a very hot real estate market, and just assumed that they could sell their other two properties whenever they wanted. As we now know, the office market tanked, of course, and the health department is now forced to sell two properties in a far worse real estate market than when they started this deal in 2020.
After the health department purchased their new property, at least partially with cash reserves that would be needed to serve the public during this pandemic, they compounded their mistakes by spending tens of thousands of dollars or more on improvements – all for a space they still don’t occupy. So what did they do to help offset this self-inflicted cash crunch? They lobbied for and received from the county commission CARES Act funds that could have instead gone to small business owners who were devastated by the restrictions placed on them, ironically, by the health department.
Despite my concerns, I initially had decided to support this. But I cannot in good conscience agree to give that property to the health department without first getting some answers. I want the health department to open their books and their meeting minutes, and show us how and why this deal was put together from the very start. I’d like to know who advised them, and who made the decisions. How do current numbers compare to original projections?
I hope I’m wrong, and will gladly admit it if I am. But in the meantime and until I get some answers, I’ll be voting no on this issue.
--Scott Fricker Platte Comisionado Presidente del Condado