As March 31st, 2017 approaches the Village of Macedon — that 160-year-old entity will cease to exist. I have grave concerns over the village resident’s financial well-being.
It has been 10 months and the only assets that have been sold off have been fire related. All those assets were sold at such a low price; one may say they were given at flea market value.
Example:
In 2015, an individual was interested in the old quint fire truck and had put an offer of $7,000 to the Village Board. A majority of the board refused to sell the quint because they felt it was more valuable.
In 2016, the new Village Board sold it for $600 and said that it “couldn’t be sold any longer.” That truck is now parked in a parking lot at a local business on State Route 31.
The fire hall had a fair market value of $150,000, which the former board agreed to put on the open market. The new board rescinded the motion and took it out of the realtor’s hands.
They were offered $110,000 from the South Macedon Fire Department in May 2016.
There were three higher bids placed for the property. One individual even brought a check to a Village Board meeting in July 2016 to pay on the spot. That offer would have allowed the structure to serve as a classic car, fire, and village museum.
The Village Board refused all of those offers.
As of January 14th the Village of Macedon had not received the full-payment for the facility, nor had any documents been signed for it’s sale.
As residents, we are paying for South Macedon’s current fire hall. Their current accommodations have suited them for two years and have worked well for the community they serve.
In the dissolution process, it is the Village Board’s obligation to ensure that effort is made to sell all assets at fair market value. As part of the process, it is also their responsibility to put those funds in a ‘special debt district’ fund.
Whatever is not sold will automatically be given to the Town of Macedon for free. The funds from the sale of the village assets can be used to lower special district taxes and any upcoming debts, which includes reducing taxes and capital improvement costs to the those residents.
The Village Board has not protected the residents they serve for the cost shifting that is going to occur.
The Village of Macedon was criticized during the dissolution process in a local newspaper by the Town Board and Macedon One organization for revitalization and holiday decorations.
Why haven’t those decorations been sold as a village asset?
If the Town would like to continue with decorating then they have the right to purchase those from the Village. Again, those funds would go into a special debt fund.
The Sewer Plant is worth at least $15 million. The Town is a co-owner of the facility due to negotiations from litigation. However, they only own a 30 percent stake, which means residents in the village are owed $10.5 million.
The cost of upgrades to the sewer plant as of 2015 was $7 million. In my opinion, the Town should take out a loan for $10.5 million to buy out its “partners” and co-owners.
The loan could be then distributed Town wide since the entire Town sewer users, which now includes the former Village, benefit from this sewer plant.
It is also my opinion that a majority of the current Village Board has done a grave injustice to it’s residents by not selling off assets appropriately.
The board reasons that things are being sold off below market value because they are old, worn out and/or have no value.
Interesting, how many of those same people previously stated that those assets were of great value to the village.
I hope the Village Board does the right thing in it’s last two months of doing business and will accept the other offer that was made for the fire hall. Doing so would ensure that at least one asset was sold from the Village of Macedon at close-to fair market value.
What this person wants to creat is something that Macedon residents have asked for since the 1970’s and is in the New York State approved BOA/LWRP revitalization plan for the Village of Macedon.
