Three hundred letters to state comptroller; Community organizes to oppose school sale

Posted 8/21/12

NARROWSBURG, NY — According to Tony Staffieri, the coalescing of the community around the sale of the Narrowsburg School is similar to the public reaction to the threats of high-voltage power lines …

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Three hundred letters to state comptroller; Community organizes to oppose school sale

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NARROWSBURG, NY — According to Tony Staffieri, the coalescing of the community around the sale of the Narrowsburg School is similar to the public reaction to the threats of high-voltage power lines and hydraulic fracturing coming to the Upper Delaware Valley: many members of the community don’t want the school to become a drug rehab center, and they have organized to oppose it.

Staffieri is a member of the steering committee of Narrowsburg Organized for Responsible School Usage (NORSU). He and other members met with The River Reporter on July 26 in a home in Narrowsburg.

The group has waged a letter-writing campaign to Todd Eames in the New York State Comptroller’s Office seeking a review of the bidding process related to the sale of the school because of what the group sees as improprieties. According to NORSU, 300 supporters have signed the letters.

David Holland, a Narrowsburg resident and a lawyer who is advising NORSU, said there are several “abnormalities” in the bidding process that the group is concerned with. Dr. Nancy Hackett, Sullivan West School District superintendent, said in a phone interview that a formal bidding process was not used; she said a best and final offer procedure was used, “and that may be causing some confusion.”

In any case, one NORSU concern is the 14-acre parcel connected with the ball field on Kirks Road, which at some point was included with the sale of the school. A year earlier, members of the Tusten town board inquired about purchasing the parcel from the Sullivan West School District and were told that the parcel was not for sale, but that they would be alerted if it came up for sale in the future.

Hackett said the parcel was always included as part of the sale of the building, and both bidders were so informed. She said this decision was made because in the sale of the Delaware School, separating an adjoining parcel from the school building created a problem with the sale of that facility. Further, she said the board knew the parcel would still be needed for use by the students, and both bidders agreed to that.

Another NORSU concern is that the two bidders were treated differently. The winning bidder was Joan Buto, who with her brother Robert Buto, owns and operates Changes Recovery and Treatment Center facility in North Lauderdale, FL. The other bidders were Brendan and Kathleen Weiden, who live in Narrowsburg, and planned to use the school as a community center.

According to a letter sent to Eames, on June 19 “the realtor for Buto, Ellie Hyde of Century 21, entered the closed room with the school board and remained in executive session for about an hour. The realtor for the Weidens was not permitted at the meeting. After one hour, they all came out and read a pre-written resolution awarding the bid to Joan Buto for $751,000 and never read what the other bid was. Under the open government laws, the bids should have been opened and read in public, then available for the public. They were not.”

Further, the letter says, Hyde, who was representing the school district as a real estate agent, was also then simultaneously representing Buto, which NORSU sees as a conflict.

Hackett said Hyde was the school’s listing agent and was not acting as an agent for Buto, and this was the same arrangement as when attorney John Hector represented the district in the sale of the Delaware campus.

The bid from Buto was $9,000 more than the bid from the Weidens. Another concern for NORSU is that Superintendent Hackett advised board members that their “only” responsibility was to take the highest bid, whereas according to the letter to Eames, “the law states that is the ‘primary’ responsibility,” and other factors, such as impact on the community, may be taken into account.

Hackett said in determining the board’s fiduciary responsibility, the board worked with attorneys. She said, “We took the best and final offer, a cash offer, and it was higher with a shorter due diligence period. And the other offer was a mortgage offer, with a longer due diligence process and less money.”

Another concern is zoning and the town’s comprehensive plan. The letter to Eames says, “The facility which Joan Buto proposes is not permitted in the General Residential and Downtown Business districts, where the two parcels are located. The town gave the realtor a copy of the zoning regulation for the potential buyers so they could be aware of the allowable use. That the school would encourage someone to pursue a business in Narrowsburg in violation of our zoning is irresponsible.”

There is also concern among some residents that the Butos have misrepresented themselves. Joan Buto has said that she and her brother operate a “successful inpatient treatment program,” but the license for the facility on the website of the Florida Department of Children and Families, which licenses rehab facilities, indicates the facility is not licensed for inpatient treatment, but instead for outpatient treatment or people living in community housing.

Finally, although the district has been trying to sell the building for several years, there is concern among NORSU members that the building could be purchased and “flipped” and then used for some purpose other than the one proposed.

These concerns have also been outlined in a letter to New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.

Holland said NORSU is not a not-in-my-back-yard organization. He said, “The mission and vision of NORSU is not just about the school, it’s also about the town’s comprehensive plan and the cultural and historic assets of the town that should be preserved. NORSU is an unincorporated association of concerned citizens that want to make clear that there are limitations about what can and can’t be done with the school. That’s not about my back yard, because there is a comprehensive plan. NORSU is trying to say all sides need to keep at this.”

Town board hires law firm

Members of the Tusten town board met on July 29 and voted to hire the law firm of Whiteman Osterman & Hanna LLP to represent them as Joan Buto attempts to get the necessary permits needed from the town zoning board of appeals and planning board to allow her to open the facility.

Also at the July 29 meeting, former town clerk Kathy Michell said she had obtained a copy of the contract between the Butos and the district. She cited a clause reading, “In the event purchaser determines that premises are not suitable, then the purchaser may at its sole and absolute discretion either terminate the agreement, or waive its contingencies and proceed to closing.” This is the clause that would enable Buto to “flip” the building even if it could not be used for a rehab.

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