Council approves sale of Haskell Center

     PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — City councilors voted Monday night to enter a purchase/sale agreement for the William Haskell Center with neighboring business Carroll’s Auto Sales.
“The city will sell the land at 270 Main St. for $145,000 and agrees to remove and properly dispose of asbestos identified in the Dec. 17, 2013 CES, Inc. report. The city will then tear down the structure and dispose of materials properly,” said City Manager Jim Bennett.
The sale hinges on the Community Center project reaching a certain point, noted Bennett.
“No later than the date that the Community Center project reaches the 80 percent completed phase, the city will issue a notice to close on the property. Closing will occur within 30 days of the notice but may be changed by mutual agreement. Carroll’s Auto Sales may give written notice within 30 days that it has decided to not close on the property,” noted the city manager in a memo to councilors.
Bennett said the sale would not be finalized until the rec department “has somewhere else to go.”
“If the council agrees, we’ll prepare documents and sign. We wouldn’t enter into the formal purchase/sale agreement until we’ve entered the building stage (of the new Community Center),” said Bennett.
Councilors voted 6-1 to authorize Bennett to sign a purchase/sale agreement for 270 Main St., as outlined in Bennett’s memo dated Nov. 18. Councilor Dick Engels, citing a conflict of interest, abstained from this vote, as well as the following vote by council to approve an easement to Kirk Carroll, of Carroll’s Auto Sales, to utilize the Recreation and Parks’ land to access his garage in the amount of $5,000. If and when the sale of the Haskell Center occurs, $4,000 of that easement will be credited toward the purchase price.