The North Royalton City Council unanimously adopted legislation that would allow the Mayor and Community Development Director to go out for bids for city-owned property on Royalton Road. “We no longer need it, so why have it,” said Mayor Larry Antoskiewicz. “If we don’t think we’re going to utilize it and we have to continue to pay for upkeep and such, why do it?”
The city’s old compost facility, located on Royalton Road, near Abbey Road, has not been utilized for several years. It was previously leased to Kurtz Brothers to operate the North Royalton Regional Compost Facility until the contract expired on October 18, 2013. That was the end of the twenty-year agreement. Originally, City Council unanimously adopted legislation, under the Barna administration, that approved the contract, forged in 1993. Then, in 2008, they went on to legislate an agreement with Kurtz Brothers that redefined the terms of the contract in which Kurtz Brothers had been managing. The new contract, approved under the Stefanik administration, then changed the contract for the remaining five years. At that time, Stefanik said that the idea was to have a regional composting facility. “The whole idea never really panned out.” He added that less residents were utilizing the facility since Rumpke took over the city’s rubbish and recycling collection
The North Royalton School District was utilizing part of that area to house and maintain their school bus fleet. The District has leased about three acres of the 12.8 acre property since 2011 to use as their school bus facility. They paid the city $60,000 each year for the lease. Last year, they entered into an agreement for the sale of a portion of the property, including the building, for the appraised value of $775,000, located at 10789 Royalton Road. Antoskiewicz said that the city split the property in order to sell the portion to the District. The portion of the land sold sits at the front portion of the property. An easement was included, which allows access to the back portion of the property, in order to sell it.
The property will be sold to the highest bidder, after advertisement once a week for five consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation within the municipal corporation, for not less than $320,000, the appraised price in accordance with the statutory provisions that govern the sale of real estate owned by municipal corporations. Antoskiewicz anticipates that the land should be ready for bid in the next few months. The money will be utilized by the Wastewater Department for expenditures within that department.
By GLORIA PLEVA KACIK
Contributing Writer