Issues & Answers – Challenging Hocking College
The March 6, 2024 edition of the Perry County Tribune offered Perry County candidates for public office an opportunity to answer six questions. Candidates were asked to limit their answers to 150 words. I complied with those restrictions to the letter. However, with my website, I have the opportunity to provide you with more in-depth responses if you wish to read them. Here is my full answer to question four…
The county expended significant funds pursuing litigation against Hocking College over the ownership of some acreage adjacent to the college’s Perry County campus. Was this worthwhile?
YES! As the only candidate on the ballot that was involved in that litigation, I will explain why. First a little background.
April of 2022 Hocking College issued an RFP Request for Proposals for approximately 15 acres of land on the County home farm site.
“Hocking College desires to spur economic development in the area and toward that goal is considering: Selling the land, Leasing the land, Creating a partnership to develop the land. Hocking College will accept proposals starting April 1, 2022 through April 30, 2022.”
I also received a message from a “developer”:
“Dr. Betty Young with Hocking College suggested I contact you to discuss a site in New Lexington, Ohio we are potentially interested in developing a retail project. We are commercial real estate developers based in Augusta, Georgia with developments from Washington D.C. down to Florida and out to Texas focusing on Apartments, Hotels and Retail projects. We are currently interested in a site in New Lexington that might fit one of our projects.”
So YES! I was opposed to this potential development on our County Home Farm. The property we are talking about is approximately 15 acres of farmland that was part of the initial parcel given to the college in 1993 by the County Commissioners for the expressed purpose for building college facilities.
Earlier in my career as commissioner I was part of the successful effort to get the college to return approximately five acres that included the county homes historic barn which we in turn leased to New Lexington Schools in what they have developed into a successful Agricultural education learning lab. The Commissioners were then successful in re-acquiring another five acres of land to build our new JFS Opportunity Center.
In their RFP the college listed a “partial list of criteria for consideration” The following list includes some of the criteria which Hocking College will evaluate proposals.
“Hocking College may include additional criteria in its evaluation of proposals at its discretion. #1 Financial benefit to College #2 Economic impact to Perry County and the local community.”
Betty Young was doing her job; getting Hocking College back into financial security and I was doing my job representing the best interests of the people of Perry County by doing everything possible to stop the sale of that land. Land that was given to the college with the agreement to build college facilities.
We enlisted the legal team of Kegler Brown Hill & Ritter led by Perry County native Tony Fiore in defense of our County Home farmland.
In the end we lost our case in the court of appeals 2-1, with one judge siding with the County that the agreement was binding. And two judges siding with the College that the deed was binding. The decision could have gone either way. In hind sight I will not second guess my decision and the unanimous decision of the board to pursue that course. As a result, the college did agree not to do anything with the property for up to ten years.
The courts decided Hocking College had the legal ability to sell that property if they desired, however that does not give them the moral or ethical right to do so.
