Since the summer months Belmont County Commissioner J.P. Dutton insists he has answered any and all questions posed concerning a property purchase for the new location of the Belmont County Sanitary Sewer District.
Local radio journalist Dimitri Vassilaros from The River 106.3 FM has been studying the $1.1 deal since July, and he has filed Freedom of Information Act requests to several agency in Belmont County. Vassilaros has covered the story since July during his morning talk show on Saturdays and Sundays.
“This property acquisition occurred nearly 3.5 years ago. I had not received any questions until a local radio story that began this past summer,” Dutton said. “Apparently, this story was discussed for several weeks without any media inquiries from this outlet.
“When inquiries did occur, it involved a request for information,” the commissioner explained. “Our office made available our entire file (including emails) on this topic. The Belmont County Prosecutor’s Office also received similar requests and also provided all available information to the media outlet.”
Here’s the Deal
When Commissioner Dutton was asked for an explanation concerning the property acquisition, he offered thE following in an email this week.
“I am very proud of this property acquisition. The prior BCSSD offices were deemed by an engineering firm to be structurally deficient. That firm recommended moving from this location,” Dutton stated. “When this property became available, we were interested because the office space fit the need, and it was located on property that was owned by Belmont County just a few years prior. We reached out to the company with the listing and began the process of making an offer.
“Our initial offer was well below the listing price. It was declined by the seller without a counteroffer,” he said. “The seller then provided information on why they were not willing to reduce the price. The listed price ($1.1 million) was exactly the amount that they had paid for the property ($150,000) and paid to have the building constructed ($950,000) just a few years prior. We were also provided with a comparable sale in the immediate area. Another potential buyer made an offer. Our board determined to proceed with the purchase at the listed price.“
Dutton also provided information concerning the funding utilized to acquire the property.
“This purchase was not made with general fund dollars but with water and sewer funds since it would be housing its office operations. The purchase was also included in Belmont County’s water and sewer funding application with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Both staff in D.C. and Columbus were aware of the purchase and included it into the funding package.
“This package was awarded in the amount of $72 million dollars which consists of 25 percent grant funding with the rest being a 40-year fixed loan at 2.3 percent with no prepayment penalty. Interestingly, we are close to finalizing the financial terms with this package and might be able to lock in an even lower interest rate, possibly below 2 percent (again that will be fixed for 40 years),” he explained. “There have been no issues with the building. It has been a tremendous facility for all of the great infrastructure work occurring in Belmont County.
Campaign’s Final Weekend
It is a second term Dutton is seeking on the Belmont County Commission, and during campaign he has reminded voters of the successes that he and commissioners Josh Meyer and Jerry Echemann have accomplished while in office.
Both Dutton and Meyer are running for re-election and have campaigned together on a few occasions.
“My campaign has been focused from the very beginning on our record for the past three plus years as well as my vision for issues that will be of importance for Belmont County over the next few years,” he said. “I am very proud of our work to this point in time and am prepared to address future issues like managing financial and operational challenges during COVID-19, a possible jail expansion project, and continued infrastructure/economic development. My campaign will continue to be focused on these areas.”
