By Barb Pert Templeton
A decision about what to do with proceeds from the sale of 303 Water Street was on the Feb. 15 agenda for the Marine City Commission.
Marine City Attorney Robert Davis said the topic of the proceeds from the sale of the building in late 2022 had been set aside and the commission planned to address the matter early in 2024.
“We’ve had these funds segregated but we haven’t taken any action with them,” Davis said.
The building sold for $237,000. Ultimately the net proceeds to the city came to $218,369 after $16,920 for a six percent commission was subtracted for the Pilot Program Group, another $1,310 was deducted for title insurance and $400 was charged for closing documents.
A one-story building with commercial zoning, the Guy Center was constructed in 1970, has 2,400 square feet of office space and sits along the waterfront of the St. Clair River. It was vacant when it went up for sale.
Longtime Marine City resident, the late Bertha Guy, donated property to the city that was later sold to purchase the old Detroit Edison Plant, which became the Guy Center. Some residents felt the donation was solely meant to create a community center for their use.
Marine City Attorney Robert Davis gave an update on funds the city has from the sale of the Guy Center.
At the recent commission meeting Davis explained that 303 Water Street was not what was bequeathed to the city but rather two lots were given to the city. The city sold those lots and then bought 303 Water Street using those proceeds plus an additional $3,975 out of the city’s general fund.
So, when the Guy Center was sold, Davis told officials they needed to do something with those funds the first thing being repaying the $3,975 back to the city’s general fund. The balance of the sale was to be utilized for a community center.
Davis provided three breakdowns of what could be done with the funds from the sale:
1. Return the money back to the general fund.
2. Add in improvements that the general fund paid for on the property.
3. Allocate all the proceeds to a new community center.
“I don’t think you have to necessarily make a final decision with all of the money but it might be wise to take action and return what should go back to the general fund,” Davis said. “And decide if the money being returned should also include the money that the general fund paid to maintain the structure for a certain number of years, through 2005 or roughly 2006.”
After that there would still be a balance in the account and the commission can decide what to do with those monies in terms of establishing a community center, he said.
“It’s something you all need to think about and come up with a decision but I think we should give some thought to at least making the general fund whole,” Davis said.
He said officials need to take the $3,975 and adjust it to current values then add the operating funds paid out of the general fund for a number of years.
“Then there leaves a balance, a pretty significant balance,” Davis said. “And you can keep that money in the segregated account until you decide how and when you want to apply it to a community center; I think it has to go to a community center.”
“Yes, it does,” replied Mayor Pro Tem Lisa Hendrick, who then asked Davis if he could send along the documents related to the issue to new commissioner Sean O’Brien.
Davis said he’d be sending O’Brien two memos, one from July of 2021 and one from Nov. 2022.
“I’ll get those off to you and we can talk about this maybe at the next meeting in greater detail,” Davis said, adding that he could provide the documents to the full commission again too.
Commissioner Rita Roehrig asked if the city could actually use the money not allocated back to the general fund plus some ARPA Funds and build a community center?
“You’re going to be positioned to do whatever you think is right,” Davis said.
Commissioner Brian Ross said just as a reminder to the public, the entirety of the funds from the sale of the Guy Center have remained in a special account untouched since the sale.
Officials decided not to make any decisions about the funding until all the commissioners are brought up to speed on the issue. The matter is expected to be placed on an upcoming meeting agenda.
