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The Blade (Toledo, OH)
5-10-00
City Council President Peter Ujvagi said the city should be willing to accept $5.3 million for the Fallen Timbers battlefield land.
Mr. Ujvagi's statement at the conclusion of council's meeting yesterday angered Mayor Carty Finkbeiner, who accused him of undercutting the city's negotiating position on the land sale.
The mayor issued a statement after the meeting berating Mr. Ujvagi and calling his remarks "unconscionable and political grandstanding at the expense of the citizens of the city of Toledo."
Mayor Finkbeiner on Monday rejected a deal offered by the Toledo Area Metroparks to buy the historic site for $5 million in two parcels over two years. He told the park district the city's $6 million asking price for the land in Maumee is firm, and encouraged Lucas County, the Metroparks, and private donors to contribute to the land deal. The city had the land appraised at $7.3 million.
Mr. Ujvagi said he spoke yesterday with county Commissioner Sandy Isenberg, who told him the county is willing to contribute $300,000 to the $5 million offer.
The offer marks the first time the county has suggested an amount it would contribute to the project.
Plans are for the land, the site of the 1794 historic battle of Fallen Timbers, to be made into a national park. The U.S. Congress declared the land a national historic site last year.
Ms. Isenberg, president of the commissioners, confirmed the county would contribute $300,000 toward the purchase. "We said at the beginning when it was reasonable and the time was right, we certainly would be there," she said.
"We are very, very close. I would ask the mayor to be cooperative and reasonable," Mr. Ujvagi said. "I would call on the mayor to come together and agree to a selling price of $5.3 million."
He said $5.3 million would represent a "more than fair and equitable return," on the city's investment.
The Fallen Timbers site is about 187 acres of the 1,200 acres the city bought in Monclova Township in 1987 for $14 million. Most of the land since has annexed to Maumee and sold.
Councilman Rob Ludeman said a $5.3 million cost would represent a selling price of about $29,000 per acre, which he believed was fair.
Ms. Isenberg called the $5.3 million price "fair, reasonable, and within our limits."
"I would hope it becomes a done deal," she said, adding that she credited Mr. Ujvagi's leadership and perseverance with bringing the county to the table on the deal.
Mayor Finkbeiner strongly criticized Mr. Ujvagi's actions. "In his zeal to appear as a leader, he has undercut the negotiating position of the mayor and the Finkbeiner administration. Most importantly, by so doing he threatens to shortchange the citizens of Toledo who purchased the land and expect full value in return.
"Mr. Ujvagi will not negotiate the land transaction. The Finkbeiner administration will negotiate the Fallen Timbers land sale. And the Finkbeiner administration will not shortchange the citizens of the city of Toledo when the transaction is consummated," the mayor's statement said.
Mr. Ujvagi said council ultimately would make the decision on the land sale.
He cautioned that the city be guaranteed the sale of the second parcel of land. The Metroparks has $2.5 million in cash for the first half of the deal, but would rely on federal and state money to make up the other half of the selling price in 2001. None of that money has been secured yesterday.
In other action, council approved legislation giving housing court judges the power to sentence landlords to live in their deteriorated properties until they make repairs.
The measure passed by an 8-to-4 vote, with council members Gene Zmuda, Betty Shultz, Louis Escobar, and Mr. Ludeman opposing the new law.
Mr. Zmuda said he did not vote against the measure because he supports slumlords, but because he believes enough laws are on the books to combat them.
He said the Finkbeiner administration needs to hire more inspectors to enforce existing laws, not add new laws. The mayor supported the law and proposed it to council. Mr. Escobar, Mr. Ludeman, and Ms. Shultz echoed Mr. Zmuda's sentiments.
Councilman Peter Gerken, who supported the slumlord law, likened it to another club in a bag of golf clubs. Not every club in the bag is used in every round of golf, but eventually, all are used.
While the slumlord law may not be needed all the time, it is a good club for housing court judges to have in their bags, he said.
Councilman Robert McCloskey, who voted in favor of the law, said he believes slumlords likely won't be sentenced to jail because they aren't violent offenders, so this law is a good alternative.
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