County moves ahead with sale of land to Legion

MARENGO — Iowa County Supervisors plan to sell a strip of land adjacent to the new American Legion Hall to American Legion Post 76 for $5,000.

The sale will follow a public hearing Dec. 13 and passage of a resolution.

The parcel of land was surveyed and a legal description created for the piece of property.

“We would not be doing any real estate [contract],” said Iowa County Attorney Tim McMeen during the Nov. 8 meeting of the County Board of Supervisors.

The land will have no abstract. The Legion can add the parcel to its abstract for the Legion building at a later date, McMeen said.

McMeen will prepare all necessary documents for the sale, he said. “I’ll submit everything on Dec. 13.”

If the Legion brings a check and the county agrees to the sale, everything can be completed Dec. 13, McMeen said.

Supervisors tentatively accepted the $5,000 offer in July. American Legion Post 76, on North Court Avenue, made the counter offer after the county offered the parcel of land for $8,400.

The partial lot, where the paving ends north of the Legion parking lot, is about 230 feet by 30 feet.

“The property isn’t doing the county any good,“ said Supervisor Alan Schumacher during a June meeting of the Iowa County Board of Supervisors. ”I’d set the price at $1 and be done with it.“

“[The Legion is] an asset to the community and the county,” said Supervisor Jon Degen in June, “but we still have to be responsible to the taxpayers.”

Post 76 Commander Morris Densen said when he made the counter offer that the new Legion Hall has many community uses. The Legion has offered it as a polling place and plans to put in a generator to make it an acceptable evacuation center for the county.

The Legion Hall might be “invaluable” during an emergency, Densen said.

County Supervisors agreed to the $5,000 offer. “We still have to go to a public auction,” said Supervisor Chairman Kevin Heitshusen.

The Legion will correct a drainage problem on its new lot as well, said Densen. The natural flow of surface water is to the north, onto county property. The Legion plans to tile ground and make the water drain to the east, Densen said.

The Legion first approached the county about purchasing the property in March. The Legion was supposed to return the ground adjacent to the new Legion Hall to its previous state when construction on the Legion building was complete.

The Legion asked to alter that agreement with the county and use the property for additional parking.

An increase in Bingo attendance makes additional parking necessary, the Legion said. People were parking there anyway. The county might as well make it an official parking area, Legion officials said.

Supervisors declined to make an agreement for parking, deciding instead to sell the property outright, thus avoiding maintenance costs and liability.