Medical Office Building Held Up by Appraisal Value of Hospital’s Land
October 20th, 2009 by Rebecca Friend
During the regular Quorum Court meeting held last Thursday, County Judge Damon Lampkin brought up the new Medical Office Building. Dr. Sidney Collins and Dr. Jeffrey Reinhart were there to discuss the status of the prospective building. Collins stated that they had come to a roadblock in the building because the land was appraised for much higher than they were hoping to pay.
The county paid for an appraiser to come in and examine the land and his estimate for the five acres of land was around $224,000. The doctors then paid for a different appraiser to examine the land and his estimate for the five acres was $110,000. The doctors do not want to have to pay $224,000 with all the restrictions that were put on the building. They asked the court to lower the price of the land.
Lampkin asked Attorney Cliff Gibson for legal advice on the issue. Gibson stated that according to the Arkansas Constitution, a county cannot “give away” the taxpayers’ land. If the land is sold for anything less than what the county tax assessor believes it is worth, there would be consequences.
Beth Davis, County Tax Assessor, agreed to look at the second appraisal, to see why there was so much of a difference in price. The court agreed that there was nothing else to do until she compared the appraisals.
The court seemed willing to help out, but emphasized that legally, their hands were tied.
Collins and Reinhart seemed to hope that this issue can be worked out, but said that they may be forced to seek another location.
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Sure would like to see those appraisals.
$110,000 for 5 acres of land in this county is NOT a giveaway. It belongs there, they are great assetts to the community, let them go to work!
I would definitely have to agree with the doctors, $224,000 is a little bit steep for 5 acres anywhere. I know that they have to do things in a proper order, but why don’t they have a third outside person come in and give an appraisal to see which of the other two are closer then maybe the county can make an agreement. These doctors need a place to handle their business and what better location could there be other than beside the hospital. I hope the county is able to come to some kind of agreement here, this needs to be done.
I agree that a third appraisal would be helpful. It frustrates me that progress cannot be made because of so many stipulations and restrictions that interefere with progress. This seems to appear again and again with anyone who tries to benefit the community whether is a new building such as the doctors are trying to build or new industry looking to locate in Drew County. This would be a great asset to the city and county. Let’s not continue to block progress. As a former resident of Monticello, I would not have a PCP in the area because of the long wait times (sometimes days) to see a doctor. I chose to drive 45 minutes to see a Dr. because if I were sick I was guaranteed to be in and out of the office within an hour. Let’s make this happen!
Land sold for $12,500 per acre directly North of Monticello High School about 5 years ago. If you accept the $110,000 valuation, that is a 44% increase in the value of land in the very near vicinity. The only restriction was that a church was to be built there.
I would like to know if there is anyone else in Drew County who has had a 44% increase in property value in the last 5 years with no improvements?
What needs to be considered in this matter is what Drew Memorial, Drew County, and our citizens stand to lose. If these doctors go down the road and decide to open an outpatient surgery center without restrictions, how much money will the hospital and ultimately the county lose? I would say it would be more than $114,000 which is the difference in the two appraisals. It is time for the County to step up and make this happen. It is time for our citizens to be able to get quality healthcare in Drew County and not have to be shipped up the road to Pine Bluff or Little Rock. These doctors are are not sitting on their hands waiting for opportunities to come along. They are trying to create some opportunities to build a stong healthcare community for Monticello and the surrounding areas. This needs to happen. Pine trees or office building? Which will bring more revenue?
That would be another terrible loss for Drew County.
When I moved here, almost 25 years ago, I was told that Monticello was the “Hub” of Southeast Arkansas and it would double in size within 10 years.
I am sorry, but that can’t happen when companies aren’t allowed to open here and the medical facilities are not growing.
Go Cliff Go