City Makes Counter Offer

By Sam Poe
Monday, June 24, 2013 | 11:06 AM
https://hbtv.us/news/?story_id=1631

There was a special called Haleyville City Council meeting Monday morning at Haleyville City Hall. Councilman Bud Wilson was absent, and all other members were present. The meeting was held to discuss the request from T Investments, LLC to purchase the current locations of Haleyville City Hall and the Haleyville Fire Department. 

The current offer is $1,425,000 for the 1.2 acre property currently owned by the city, but the net value will be about $1.3 million after brokerage and attorney fees.  This offer was agreed upon between the council and the agent for T Investments. In addition, the purchase contract on the buildings includes provisions to protect the war memorial outside Haleyville City Hall, as well as the red phone that was used to place the first 9-1-1 call in the nation. The above mentioned contract for sell was unanimously passed by the Haleyville City Council. Mayor Ken Sunseri stated the State Historical Commission has called, and the opinion of the organization is there is significance to the history of the building. However, they have no legal challenge because there is no federal funds are being used for the property. 

Resolution 2013-33 authorized Mayor Sunseri to enter into contracts on the purchase of undetermined properties at undetermined price for negotiations for the new locations of Haleyville City Hall and for the Haleyville Fire Department. Several properties have been offered to the city for development for this purpose, and the mayor will work with the council to identify the best property(ies) for this purpose. This resolution was passed unanimously.  

Jeff Mobley, city attorney, stated this offer is not an accepted offer. This is simply an option to purchase that was agreed upon by the city and the agent for the investment company. The plan has been approved by the city but must be presented to T Investments and approved by their purchasing committee before any final decisions can be made. No firm decisions are expected until August or September. Once they have agreed to a price T Investments has ninety days to verify purchase before closing. After closing, the City of Haleyville will have six months to move to the new locations. 

The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Haleyville City Council will be Monday at 5:30 p.m.