By Patricia Bogumil
Staff Writer
This time, you can’t blame it on the post office.
A $22 bill for annual rent due from 1988 to 2010 arrived at the Waterford Town Hall this month.
It is being paid, but under protest and with conditions.
The invoice was prepared Feb. 9 and walked over to the town clerk by a Town of Waterford Sanitary District (WSD) representative.
The WSD invoice reflects an annual $1 rental fee charged to the Town of Waterford for space in the Town Hall, which is owned by WSD.
The $1 annual fee is part of a 99-year lease between the town and WSD.
Town Chairman Robert Langmesser said Monday that his understanding is that the full $99 for 99 years was already paid – in 1988.
Proof that the town has already fully paid the 99-year lease lies in the failure of WSD to ever bill for that $1 annual rent, he added.
“They’re the landlord,” said Langmesser. “Why didn’t they bill us the $1 if we owed it?”
In 1988, WSD needed to own a building in order to qualify for grant monies to begin the town’s new sanitary sewer project, said Langmesser.
As a result, under former Town Chairman Ed Krueger, the town sold WSD the Town Hall on North Milwaukee Street for $100,000, said Langmesser.
The town then used $60,000 of WSD’s payment for work that included adding the WSD offices; and used the remaining $40,000 for the town’s Department of Public Works building.
“Krueger was smart enough to tack on that $99 lease,” added Langmesser.
The recent WSD invoice for $22 in back rent was approved for payment by the town board earlier this month while included in a batch of other more routine billings.
WSD Commissioner Donna Block said that before the $22 invoice went out, she spoke with the WSD administrator about it, who looked back in the files for information about lease payments by the town.
“She did not find anything.”
Langmesser said the town is now asking WSD for copies of all WSD meeting minutes related to the terms of the Town Hall sale to WSD, the 99-year lease and payment.
“Twenty-two dollars is not going to take care of their problems,” he commented.
-
-
-
-
-