Flagler County government has found a way to get rid of one of its white elephants, the moldy Sears building it bought a year ago for $1.125 million even though it didn’t need it, in the culmination of at times hurried and mostly opaque negotiations out of commissioners’ view.
According to a plan commissioners are expected to vote on at a meeting this evening, the county will sell the building for $1 million, resulting in a loss of $170,000 once the difference with the original purchase price and the money the county has spent on building mitigation and maintenance is calculated. (County Administrator Jerry Cameron said with the clock still running, that final figure may rise to $250,000.) The county will settle out of court with one of the three parties it threatened to sue–Realtor Margaret Sheehan-Jones.
It isn’t clear if Sheehan-Jones stands to make a commission on this latest proposed sale. “I do not know what the agreement may be, as we are only interested in our side of the transaction,” County Attorney Al Hadeed said this afternoon. “We just want a hold harmless once we pay the realtor identified by the purchaser, that is, a hold harmless from any other person or entity that might claim a fee. The purchaser has to resolve such issues, if any, and the purchaser cannot look to the county to either defend or pay any such claims.”
Sheehan-Jones had brokered the sale of the building to the county from its former owners. As part of the agreement with the county, she found the new buyers and brokered the sale to them. In return, the county agrees to drop all legal claims against Sheehan-Jones. She was the only one of the three parties the county threatened to sue who responded to the county’s offer settlement proposal last November.
Seeking to avoid the cost and delays of litigation, commissioners last November agreed to propose a settlement offer to Sheehan-Jones, to the building’s former owners–James and Adre’a McIntyre–and to Universal Engineering, the company that inspected the building for water damage.
“In order to resolve the matter, the Board of County Commissioners authorized me at its November 18, 2019 meeting to offer to you all, singularly and collectively, the right to take ownership of the building, or to assign this right in whole or in part to a nonparty of your choosing,” County Administrator Jerry Cameron wrote the three parties, “and with whatever combination, reimburse the county for the purchase price of the property, plus the cost of mitigating against further damage, as well as the costs incurred in pursuing these claims. The county feels
you are in the best position to repair and, if you choose, to market and lease or sell the property and that this would be the most equitable way to bring the situation to a resolution.”
Sheehan-Jones was the only one who responded. According to the county’s documentation, she agreed to find a buyer and “make the county whole.” By the time Cameron issued his letter, Sheehan-Jones had already lined up a potential buyer.
The new owners, should the county approve the sale tonight, will be the couple that owns Mia Bella Academy and the dance studio company known as Artists Simply Human–Brie Valenti-Crane and Braham Logan Crane. They intend to turn the Sears building, an 8,000-square-foot expanse perfectly suited for such a use, into a dance studio. The building is at 4888 Palm Coast Parkway. Its ownership by a private company would return it to the tax rolls, though for now at lesser value. The property appraiser valued the building at $447,000 in 2018, at the time when the purchase price the county paid was established. Its current value is less than half that, at $217,700. The 2018 property tax bill had totaled $9,100.
The county still intends to pursue the building’s former owners and the engineering firm, at least for the balance of its expenses. But the settlement agreement releases Sheehan-Jones and her agency–Parkside Realty–from any claims by the county.
The building is being sold as is, according to the contract, “without any warranty relating to the condition of the buildings or improvements.” But it’s still up to the buyers at their own expense and within 60 days from the effective date of the due diligence period to “determine whether the Property is suitable, in Purchaser’s sole and absolute discretion.”
The settlement agreement with Sheehan-Jones states that ” the County and Sheehan-Jones and Parkside agree to mutually release each other from all claims of any kind and from the Damage, the Claims, the Option Contract and the Property.” The agreement will take effect at closing on the property.
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Land of no turn signals says says
Sheehan-Jones should have her realtor licence suspended for at least 18 months for false representation of not 1 but 2 buildings and reimburse ALL commissions.I hope the county learns from this but I doubt they will.
Wow says
Agree. Don’t realtors have ethics they are supposed to follow?
nanci says
Yes, of course they do. But she’s not supposed to function as an inspector. The blame here belongs on the inspector/engineer.
WILLIAM NELSON says
Let’s see if they (County Commissioners) can FINALLY get something right without costing us (taxpayers) more money! So far, how much??has that attempted new sheriffs headquarters cost us ?? Don’t want to be a guardhouse lawyer BUT, the “old building” remains the most sensible solution.
ASF says
The woman should lose her realtor’s license.
Please Stop the Madness. ? says
Really?
Agree with getting rid of the elephant, but not in some backroom deal that leaves the taxpayers holding the bag…
If there is a settlement, it needs to be out in the open and mitigate OUR losses. Enough of the talk about ‘remember this when voting’. Hold our elected officials accountable NOW.
Jane Gentile-Youd says
Dear Flagler Live,
As a Florida Current Licensed Real Estate Broker I would appreciate your posting the contract on FlaglerLive – every page , initials, signatures, dates, and if commission is involved which is a STANDARD part of FLORIDA BAR APPROVED Real Estates Contracts.
The county had no right to sue her for the seller’s failure to disclose known facts about the property. I can just imagine Mr. Jones climbing a roof in her $150 imported shoes ( I asked her where she gets her shoes – same styles) !!! An agent, unless also the owne and seller is NEVER responsible for seller’s known defects unless they told her in which case she would be obligated by Florida License law to disclose.
If she found the buyer she had every right to ask the seller – this time Flagler County for a legally earned commission – which is an integral part of a sales contract to be completed,
In closing Al Hadeed never had the original contract in his office 2 weeks before closing ( Flagler Live has e-mail sent to Sean, Hadeed’s assistant to Tim Tefler asking if he could ‘dig up the contract for Gentile-Youd.
If this commission continues to keep Al Hadeed as County Attorney there must be more than ‘meets the eye’ we know that at least 3 commissioners are ignorant idiots.
Andrea McIntyre says
To the citizens of Flagler County , In reguards to this moldy Sears building that the county commissioners have speculated that there was mold in the building when they purchased the building. After all the inspections were voted on by the commissioners at several meetings to go ahead, we than closed on the sale. They did not enter the building for almost 3 months , with no air running and pouring down rain from the gutter that also needed maintance periodically , this was disclosed to the first county administrator to do the maintance on the gutter, he said they would seal the roof with a special coating which the roof was in very good condition and repair the gutter at that time. Their claims are false and miss leading to everyone. They had even set a side $100,000 for repairs up and above the $125,000, which is in the option agreement and at anytime they could had backed out, not even losing earnest monies. The option agreement that they presented to us was a AS IS agreement! Now they strike another deal with Margaret S. Jones before they sent us a demand letter to buy it back . We served the community for 15 years ,thru hurricanes, tropical storms and open 7 days a week. Never did we have water in our show room or mold anywhere in our building that we were aware of. We had up to $500.000 worth of inventory in the warehouse and showroom at any given time for sale and to be picked up by customers already paid. Sears interest in the business was a monthly visit to make sure everything was pristine for our customers. We sold that building in good faith , we took care and valued our employee’s and supported our community.
Darnell Group, Inc Andre’a and Jim McIntyre
Edith Campins says
No, you didn’t sell it in good faith. There is video evidence showing wide spread mold from the beginning. It didn’t get like that overnight. Not that that excuses the incompetence of the county officials.
Flatsflyer says
It’s good to see the former owners response, always enjoyed doing business with them and all the stories previously written tainted them poorly. This letter vindicates the owners and tends to put the blame on the County. Nothing new here, they have screwed up everything they have touched in the 20 plus years I have lived here.
It is time to clean house! says
It is time that we vote everyone of these Board of County Commissioner’s out of office and we can start this November and finish cleaning it up in 2020!! Why are they protecting the realtor???? Same realtor that sold them the old Bunnell Hospital, and it was her husband that was meeting with then County Administrator Craig Coffey! We have far too may back door deals going on in this county, and this is not how government should be doing business! We should not be taking a loss of any kind. The County Attorney here in Flagler County must be asleep behind the wheel, or just plain stupid! How could things like this happen time and time again? I keep hearing Commissioner Joe Mullins saying that the board is going to hold those responsible accountable but I see nothing happening. This is clearly our sign that we can’t trust and believe Mullins and he too must go.
A forensic audit and an investigation should take place now and this should be reason for removal from office for every one who took part in this dirty deal!
Dennis says
Hey county leaders, I have some crap property for sale and was told your a sucker with lots of tax payer dollars. Let’s make a deal on another white elephant property.
You have the site all prepared, tear down the other white elephant and rebuild there. That’s makes too much sense. Of course you don’t have sense enough to make proper decisions.
C’mon man says
I got some moldy bread I should put up for sale. County would jump on that in a heartbeat
CB from PC says
Wow….the same old stuff. Does anyone have any ethics or give a shit about taxpayer money? Pathetic, and yeah, all of you incumbents will be receiving a big hit the road from me in November, regardless of party affiliation. I urge other citizens of Flagler to do the same.
Name (required) says
Any other normal buyer would be stuck under contract with this mold covered Sh*thole, welcome to Florida real estate!! Lol. I can’t. Welcome to “greased”palm coast.
Corinne Hermle says
There just seems to be some many assumptions made by the Commission.
Hand wave and assume someone will put all the pieces together.
Why can’t they articulate what the county needs? To clearly state ‘This is the policy objective I want to achieve – let’s figure out the in-between steps to get there’?
palmcoaster says
These new deal like others before it and listed by the same realtor to these flawed FCBOCC and green lighted by their legal team wasting our hard earned tax dollars to benefit some of their buddies is reason enough to boot them all from their seats in November…This is one after another scams to grease their pockets in our backs, meanwhile our EVAC helicopter is on service for this county emergency 9 to 5 only. The county manager and the new commissioner transact among themselves a real estate property (conflict of interest is the commissioner to abstain to vote in items advised by the county manager?). Meanwhile any of the city taxpayers whether a tax watch dog or a constitutional official uncovering wrong doing and maybe in the near future the press are threatened and sued by the FCBOCC violating their first amendment and the Florida Statute 768.295 Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP)as reported on line:
http://cleanupcityofstaugustine.blogspot.com/2020/03/six-figure-slapp-suits-against-ethics.html
https://www.votersopinion.com/2016/11/27/the-dirtiest-little-county-in-florida-starring-tallahassee-lawyer-mark-herron-part-2/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+votersopinion%2FfSFL+%28VotersOpinion%29