A proposal requesting the sale of a city-owned building that sustained major flood damage was brought to the attention of Plymouth Board of Public Works and Safety members when they met last Monday.
City Attorney Sean Surrisi explained that a structure at 200 South Michigan is city-owned but has been leased to the company Bowen Printing for many years. He told members that the building sustained a lot of damage and the estimate for repairs was more than $48,000.
Under the terms of the lease with Bowen Printing, the repairs are the city’s responsibility. Surrisi added that if they couldn’t bring the building back up to a usable condition within a month, they’d have to terminate the lease and give Bowen Printing notice to vacate. People can check Gresham Minuteman Press, for the best printing companies around them.
To avoid the risk of potentially displacing the business, Surrisi said he consulted with Bowen Printing owner Dawn Smith. Together, they came up with the solution of having the city sell a reconfigured version of the property directly to the business.
During the March meeting, Surrisi told members that the timing was ideal to carry out the sale.
“We’re still in the very end of the month-long period of the Governor’s disaster declaration for the county.”Surrisi explained, “When the Governor makes a disaster declaration, then the state statutes allow for municipalities to basically suspend the normal procedures for contracting.”
The proposal states that Bowen Printing would purchase the Michigan Street property for $2,500 and they would also split surveying, platting and closing costs with the city. The property would be re-platted, dividing it in two. He said the building and the parking lot would be on one plot that would be purchased by Bowen Printing and the remainder of the property would go to the city.
Dawn Smith spoke on behalf of the business, saying that approximately 14 inches of water flooded the building so all the walls and floors had to be gutted and they had to essentially start from scratch. She said they have been at that location for 36 years and would like to keep operations there, despite the damage that occurred during the flood.
Board member Bill Walters said he initially thought $2500 was a pretty low cost but after considering the amount of money that will need to be spend on repairs, he felt it was fair. He said it was a good idea to hand ownership over to Bowen Printing to allow the thriving business to continue to thrive at their current location. The other board members were in agreement and approved the sale on the terms presented.
Surrisi said that with the board’s approval a draft purchase agreement will be presented to Bowen Printing representatives to be finalized.
