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School District Rejects County Offer To Purchase Old Molino School, County To Make Another Offer
July 18, 2008
Escambia County’s $2 million offer to purchase the old Molino Elementary School and the old Wedgewood Middle School property in Pensacola was shot down by the school district.
County Administrator Bob McLaughlin told commissioners Thursday that he met with School Superintendent Jim Paul Monday afternoon to formally make the $2 million offer to acquire the two properties.
“With some discussion, Mr. Paul made a counter offer of $3.3 million for the pieces of property,” McLaughlin said.
The $3.3 million was broken down as $2.9 million for the Wedgewood property and $400,000 for the old Molino School property.
McLaughlin said he did not have a current appraisal on the Wedgewood property, so the commission granted him permission to obtain that appraisal so he could return to Paul’s office with another offer.
“Mr. Paul is trying to sell the surplus properties that he has to try to build a high school somewhere on the westside,” said McLaughlin.
The school board’s appraisal of the Molino property is $400,000 to $600,000, and $3.3 million on the Wedgewood property.
“If there’s (county owned) properties somewhere near where he would like to build the new school on the west side, then we may have additional leverage,” McLaughlin. “But he was not able to give a specific location or a general area that I could take a look at and see what we had available.”
Last month, the commission was set to discuss the purchase the old Wedgewood Middle property for a one-stop county facility. The Escambia County School Board’s asking price for the property located off Highway 29 north of W Street was $4 million.The commission decided to offer $2 million for that property and the old Molino Elementary on Highway 95A in Molino. The school board’s asking price for the Molino property was $400,000.
Plans call for the old Molino school to become a community hub, possibly including a 5,000 square foot library, a museum highlighting Molino history, a small health clinic, a business incubator, renovation of the gym and one additional building for community events and private party rental along with other uses.
The Molino school closed in 2003 when the new Molino Park Elementary School consolidated Molino Elementary and Barrineau Park Elementary.
The school, which sits on nine acres along County Road 95A, first opened in 1939.
Comments
5 Responses to “School District Rejects County Offer To Purchase Old Molino School, County To Make Another Offer”
I seem to have a hard time keeping up with some of the logic and the arguments going on here. Let’s see;
Pensacola and the County can raise or find $30 plus million to do a county office complex in down town Pensacola, but not to build one nearer the center of the county.
Pensacola and the County can raise or find $16 plus million or so to renovate the Saenger Theater, but not to build an Arts or activity center at the old school in Molino.
Pensacola and the County can raise or find $40 plus million (or is it $257 million) to build a “Community Maritime Park”, but had trouble finding $1 million to connect Hwy 29 to I-65 (took them over 10 years after Opal’s grid-lock).
Property Taxes took a $31 million plus per year jump after Ivan, but the County is having to cut essential services.
Pensacola and the County and ECUA are building a $350 million sewer plant in Gonzalez, but County Zoning limits single family housing to a density of one-house per twenty-acres under the current zoning.
The Escambia County Area Transit System (ECAT) does not provide much transportation outside of Pensacola. You can’t catch a bus in Bratt and go to the Health Dept. office in Molino.
The Charter City of Century is not invited to the Combined “Committee of the Whole” meetings between Pensacola and the County that are held in Pensacola instead of Molino in the center of the county.
Can someone help me understand what is going on here?
Jack Moran
Bratt
It is about time that the county actively supported ideas on making family oriented activities available to the Cantonment/Molino/McDavid part of the county. With the price of gas being what it is, having a facility available that is more central to this part of the county is essential. A library would be fantastic and having the facilities to attend classes or have exercise classes for adults and other activities for the kids is very much needed. I don’t think we need a museum. . .kids don’t enjoy that. Something to get the kids interested in physical activities (like karate or tennis) and expand them mentally (like a library) would appeal to just about everyone.
I have only lived here in molino for about 4 years, but i’ve heard stories about people that use to have local horse playdays, or shows. My sister and mom have ridden with me on our horses around molino school and behind it on the track. It would be a wonderful idea if they turned the track into an arena and maybe built some stalls/stable off to the side and have people come for the day with their horses and ride and have somewhere to keep their horse while their there. Plus, a way the county could make some profit on it would be by making a small fee per horse or by time spent out there. Molino and surrounding areas are packed with horses and horse training people and if it were just advertised a little then it would be popular in no time.
I forget to mention that we already have a retired school/community center with a museum at the closed Barrineau park elementary that is available for party rentals. And Molino folks already have the health dept. available for medical screening. I really believe that turning the old Molino Elementary into another historic community center would be a waste of a potenially great resource!! YMCA is the way to go!!
I think that the old MOLINO SCHOOL would be perfect for someone like the YMCA to refurbish and give the northend families something to do, especially the kids. Kids get into trouble because they are bored. Swimming, athletics, after-school activities, tennis courts, ect… I know the YMCA would be great for molino, we are growing and need positive role models to encourage our youth and I believe that the YMCA -CAN do that, it needs to be out of the county’s hands.