BOE makes no decision on property

HUNTINGTON -- The Cabell County Board of Education spent nearly two hours in executive session Tuesday night discussing property and pending litigation with its lawyer.

When they reconvened, board president Ted Barr said no action was being taken, and none of the five members was willing to say what was discussed in executive session.

Superintendent William Smith, speaking from a model schools conference in Atlanta, confirmed what the eight or nine people in the audience already suspected. They were discussing a deal with Prestera Center for Mental Health Services for the University Heights property along U.S. 60.

But Smith said the board just wasn't ready to vote.

"I think they just wanted to make sure, they wanted to understand all the nuances," Smith said. "It will be on the agenda Monday and probably be ready then."

Smith said he hadn't talked to the lawyer this week and wouldn't go into any details about the possible deal.

"I can't speak to that yet; probably just wait until Monday," he said.

Prestera Center Executive Director Bob Hansen didn't attend the meeting, but said Tuesday night that a deal is in the works.

"We are working, their attorneys and our attorneys back and forth ... on some type of settlement," Hansen said.

Karen Nance, a Cabell County resident and historic preservationist, is hoping a deal falls through so the July 9 court appearance -- rescheduled from last month -- comes to pass.

"We're hoping to get a fair hearing in court," Nance said, saying that hundreds of residents have signed a petition that they plan to unveil in front on of Cabell Circuit Court Judge David Pancake. "We feel confident we're right. We just want our hearing in court."

Nance, along with Highlawn resident Susan Gillette, joined a civil complaint filed in mid-March by Prestera Center's attorney. Since then, however, the two sides have been negotiating a deal in hopes of avoiding court costs.

During the past several weeks, the school board has met in executive session to discuss the acquisition of property. The only piece of property the board has publicly sought is University Heights.

Prestera paid Marshall University $2.31 million for the property, outbidding the school board by $410,000. The bids were revealed at the Board of Governors' meeting last November, with a 12-1 vote in favor of accepting the higher offer.

The deal was finalized in mid-January, and the school board voted to use its power of eminent domain at a Jan. 29 special meeting. However, school board attorneys have not officially filed the eminent domain paperwork at the Cabell County Courthouse.

Nance and Gillette think they have been the sticking points between a deal. They have told Prestera attorneys they will not sign off on any deal that would not allow them to re-file a lawsuit on some of the same grounds filed in the complaint in March.

"If indeed Prestera would sell to the Board of Education, then we still would proceed with the 1990 bond call issue (of putting middle school at the old Huntington East High School, where the board office is now)," Nance said. "It's complicated. We're on the lawsuit, but it's their property; they can do what they want."

The next meeting is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Monday, July 6. The board will start with a statutory meeting to vote on a meeting schedule for the upcoming year, along with a new vice president.

The regular board meeting will start after that meeting. The meeting's agenda was not set as of Tuesday evening.

Get the latest news from area schools daily in The Herald-Dispatch and online at www.herald-dispatch.com.