Posted 4:18 pm Friday, October 22, 2010
Lindale ISD Officials Consider Course Of Action After Selling Land Too Cheaply
By MELISSA CROWE
Staff Writer
Staff Writer
Lindale Independent School is exploring options to remedy a regrettable land sale.
The district undersold a 37-acre tract of undeveloped land for $75,000, or $2,000 an acre, because it was mistakenly considered landlocked.
After the sale, appraisers from Lindale-based Thompson Appraisal Service and Lindale school officials realized the property was "limited access," not landlocked.
"We did have some information that wasn't as correct as we'd hope and we used that information to make a decision," Superintendent Stan Surratt said.
Soon after the story broke, the district ordered a second appraisal by Tyler-based Appraisal Associates, and found that the property's value was nearly doubled to $143,000, or $3,800 an acre.
Before the new property owner protested the property's value with Smith County Appraisal District, it was listed with the county for $638,000.
Craig Chesley, who gave the second appraisal of the property, said his company always contacts the county appraisal office when conducting an appraisal.
He said even appraisers contact the county office, roads may not be visible.
"If you know where all the boundaries are, the boundaries of the public road, boundaries of the property, if you don't have that information looking at the SCAD record doesn't help," he said.
As far as the county appraised value, Chesley said it strictly "their opinion and not necessarily done on the latest data."
In March, the school district published a public notice in the
Tyler Morning Telegraph
about a 37-acre tract of land near Velma Penny Elementary School.
about a 37-acre tract of land near Velma Penny Elementary School.
By the bidding deadline on May 4, no bids for the property were submitted.
On June 1, Charlie Dentelman, a former school board member and contractor, submitted a $75,000 cash bid, which the school board accepted.
School Board President "Red" Brown said because the property was considered landlocked, the school was not required to publish another public notice.
Because they were going off the original, albeit incorrect, information, Surratt said the sale is still considered legal.
Surratt said the sale "wasn't that big a deal," they just "went through the process."
The Texas Education Agency is currently investigating the legality of land sale, said TEA spokeswoman Suzanne Marchman.
Further information from TEA is unavailable until the investigation is complete, Ms. Marchman said.
Brown said the school board is meeting with their attorney "to determine what specific remedies we can seek based on the loss to the taxpayer for the mistake we made."
Surratt said reversing the sale would be impossible at this point, "the land sale is final."
However, Brown said one possibility would be to sue the appraiser for negligence; however, the school district would have to cover attorney fees.
"The school district is looking at all legal options," Surratt said. "There's just not a lot of options out there for us."
