Remember our Sturtevant property in which the village paid nearly 7
times fair market value from a guy who just happened to have been a
former client of village attorney Alan Marcuvitz - and together they
settled a $5 million eminent domain lawsuit down in Kenosha about a
decade ago?
Weeks ago, when it first came up, Trustee Gary Feest asked for the official appraisal of the property prepared by the village and his request was denied. They refused to show it to him.
We filed an open records request for the appraisal on October 3rd - given that the property sale was complete and the appraisal is a public document.
Weeks ago, when it first came up, Trustee Gary Feest asked for the official appraisal of the property prepared by the village and his request was denied. They refused to show it to him.
We filed an open records request for the appraisal on October 3rd - given that the property sale was complete and the appraisal is a public document.
Our request was also denied. Here is the reason attorney Chris Smith stated for the denial:
"Whether public inspection should be allowed or denied depends entirely on a balancing of the public's "right to know," as against the need to protect the public interest. In way of illustration, I cite the example of where a particular project may involve numerous acquisitions. Public inspection of the records pertaining to closed transactions may seriously hinder future negotiations on parcels yet to be acquired within the particular project."
In other words, if the appraisal doesn't actually support a negotiated settlement of 7 times fair market value, people who are being forced to settle for 1.4 times fair market value might have legal grounds to sue us.
Nothing to see here folks...nothing to see.
#BootDeGroot
"Whether public inspection should be allowed or denied depends entirely on a balancing of the public's "right to know," as against the need to protect the public interest. In way of illustration, I cite the example of where a particular project may involve numerous acquisitions. Public inspection of the records pertaining to closed transactions may seriously hinder future negotiations on parcels yet to be acquired within the particular project."
In other words, if the appraisal doesn't actually support a negotiated settlement of 7 times fair market value, people who are being forced to settle for 1.4 times fair market value might have legal grounds to sue us.
Nothing to see here folks...nothing to see.
#BootDeGroot
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1 comment:
It only gets WORSE in Mount Unpleasant.
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