I have given everyone hear all the information I have thus far.  We are pursuing any and all possible options...and have begun discussion on plans if they fall through.  One plan is indeed for eminent domain.  Bottom line, we've gotta work something out in the end.

B Gage, if you know the "real deal," I would appreciate it if you would share it with me/us, especially if there's something you feel I'm not aware of that's important.  It's crucial that we have as much information as possible approaching this subject.  As for "shady tactics," speaking only for myself, I can say that is not the case.  Again, I'm sorry you feel that way.

Thanks for your time.

How can  the school board  tell  the property owners give  us this land for what we want to pay or through eniment domain .......these people are in there late 60's  early seventies  and you are gonna take there land away.......now that some shady tactics

It could be that the elderly residents don't want or are not capable of moving and even though got a fair price for their land it would still be unacceptable for them to move. I'm against Eminent Domain being used by any organization to take land from any tax paying citizen unless an extreme need for the whole community exists. A bus garage in my opinion just doesn't fit the description of extreme need for the whole community IMHO.

gotta agree with the shadow on this one.  It shouldn't even be a consideration

I don't care if they are '30 something' in age. I don't care if they are elderly or not. IT IS THEIR PROPERTY!! And agreeing with the others here, a bus garage is clearly NOT benefiting the ENTIRE community.

I had a friend who owned a piece of land in Florida. They inherited it from their parents and never developed it. One day they rec'd a letter from this town's leaders in Florida offering them money for the land. The letter stated that they needed it for an emergency route when hurricanes strike. They also rec'd a blue print of exactly where and how the road would be built. My friends checked and found that they were being offered a fair market value. They recognized that it was for a good cause. They also new that it would be years, if ever, that they would develop the land....so they sold it to that town.

Now THAT is how eminent domain works and benefits the ENTIRE community. Not a school bus garage! IMHO

how about the girls softball fields...eminent domain them???? I am being sarcastic here......

Quoted from JosephSalamone

I have given everyone hear all the information I have thus far.  We are pursuing any and all possible options...and have begun discussion on plans if they fall through.  One plan is indeed for eminent domain.  Bottom line, we've gotta work something out in the end.

B Gage, if you know the "real deal," I would appreciate it if you would share it with me/us, especially if there's something you feel I'm not aware of that's important.  It's crucial that we have as much information as possible approaching this subject.  As for "shady tactics," speaking only for myself, I can say that is not the case.  Again, I'm sorry you feel that way.

Thanks for your time.

Will  you feel sorry for the o'hares when you "steal" there property

Quoted Text

ROTTERDAM
Mohonasen land acquisition up for discussion
BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter

    Mohonasen administrators are again talking with a pair of property owners off Serafini Drive, pausing an eminent domain proceeding the district launched against one of them last month.
    Superintendent Kathleen Spring said attorneys from the district are arranging a meeting with the representatives from the O'Hare and Lindenman families. She expressed hope for a deal for the roughly 40 acres owned between them. In anticipation of the discussions, the district has postponed a public hearing on the land seizure possibility that was scheduled for next week.
    “Our preference has always been to work with the property owners,” Spring said Tuesday. “We see a possible opportunity to continue negotiations with the owners and felt it would be appropriate to postpone the eminent domain hearing to follow up on that opportunity.”
    Discussions with the O'Hares broke down last year after the family balked at a property appraisal offered by the district. Members of the families could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
    Spring said lawyers representing the family contacted the district this week to discuss a possible sale. The two families own wooded lots near the southern border of the Mohonasen campus where future district expansion would be possible.
    “The district is very landlocked,” she said.
    The O'Hare property was the only one targeted by the district under eminent domain. District officials viewed the 17.5 acres as the most logical area to construct a bus garage and athletic fields being discussed as part of a capital project.
    Spring said the district doesn't have any plans for the Lindenman property, but wanted to acquire it for future development. Under the state's eminent domain laws, the district couldn't take the land without justifying the need.
    The district has discussed expanding the athletic fields and building a 45-bay bus garage as part of a multi-million dollar proposal. Discussions on the project have also included a media center at the middle school and classroom expansion to allow a full-day kindergarten program.
    Spring said the district wants to ...........http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....amp;EntityId=Ar01102

See what happens when government $$ is involved.....everyone wants a piece of the action,,,,it becomes an Alaskan pipeline.......maybe the property
owners thought they could 'make out' better than the current economy/housing values would actually allow them......and the school has $$ burning
in it's pockets(we think).....we shall see......

Quoted Text

Spring said the district doesn't have any plans for the Lindenman property, but wanted to acquire it for future development. Under the state's eminent domain laws, the district couldn't take the land without justifying the need.

Wow.  Just wow.

From what I read the road block is the price that Mohon wants to pay for the land. As I've stated b4 get a neutral third party to appraise the property so that the buyer and seller get a fair price and don't forget to put a little extra money in there for the cost and aggravation of having to move.

Shadow, I agree. IF the people want to move, they should not only get fair market value (which is low right now), but  they should get extra for inconvenience. Eminent Domain should not be an option AT ALL!!! Again....If Eminent Domain must be executed, it should be for the benefit of the 'whole community'. And a bus garage for a school district doesn't seem to fit that criteria.
IMHO

Quoted from bumblethru

Shadow, I agree. IF the people want to move, they should not only get fair market value (which is low right now), but  they should get extra for inconvenience. Eminent Domain should not be an option AT ALL!!! Again....If Eminent Domain must be executed, it should be for the benefit of the 'whole community'. And a bus garage for a school district doesn't seem to fit that criteria.
IMHO

with all the senior/subsidized housing going up all over Rotterdam----who is left to live in the single family homes??? Families with
kids? taxpayers?.....I would like to see the break down for home ownership in Rotterdam based on age/kids/no kids etc.....as
we are all talking from our own points of views here......

as for eminent domain---dangerous precedent

Quoted Text

Mohon shouldn’t take land, or should at least sweeten offer

    The Mohonasen school district is proposing to use eminent domain to seize 17.5 acres of private property on Serafini Drive in Rotterdam (Jan. 24 Gazette). The land is adjacent to the Mohonasen main campus, and part of the land would be used for a new “high tech” bus garage and additional athletic fields.
    School district representatives seem to think it’s fair to offer the land’s appraised value to the owners, when appraised value hardly ever represents real property value. How many 17.5-acre parcels of land are available for development in Rotterdam? This is prime land for residential development, and this should be considered when determining its value.
    How much land is really needed for a new bus garage, and how many new athletic fields are needed? It seems like 17.5 acres is a bit of overkill. There is other land available, including land already owned by the school district. I would think that a new bus garage could be built on a much smaller parcel, and the land freed up by demolition of the old bus garage would add to land available for athletic fields. Additionally, the existing athletic fields could be laid out more efficiently. As another option, has consolidation with Schalmont been considered?
    While the reasons for the Mohonasen proposal can be debated, there can be no debate on what the right thing to do is when it comes to the property owner. The Fifth Amendment says: “nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.” I think in this case “just compensation” overrules “assessed value”!

    MICHAEL PASTORE
    Rotterdam

I do agree that perhaps a better offer should be presented. Perhaps one they can come to terms with. But EMINENT DOMAIN? Those words should never have been used. I am clearly no attorney....but between the public's outcry for injustice and in a court of law...it would never fly!!! NEVER!! I can't believe that Mohonasen would even consider that option! And publically no less! IMHO