“The group is owned by Chris Walden who plans to convert the building into an art gallery and event center”

Event Center?
It is my understanding that the event and meeting area at PAC is the only thing that is keeping them in business.
Now we have Murphy’s Landing, with a new meeting area.
Art Central needs an elevator for their third floor meeting and event area.
Manchester Inn is also planning a large event and meeting area.
Sorg Opera will also have a meeting area on the upper floors
Hmmmm…..Seems like a lot of meetings will be going on.
How many meeting areas do you believe Middletown can support?

"If the Bank One building is sold, the city would make $62,000 off its investment."

Hmmm….Didn’t City Hall just upgrade the Miami Research side of this building several months ago before they signed the new contract?

It is my understanding that Mr. Robinette sent a copy of his offer to all the council members.
But again I ask the question..when was this property placed on the open market? 
Did anyone see a FOR SALE sign on this building?

So, he said, his company “dropped the matter,” but after he learned the property was for sale, he submitted proposals.

He said his company had hoped to renovate the former bank building and convert it for commercial use and possibly highlight Middletown’s rich history in the steel, paper and banking business.
Hmmm..when Mr Oglesby talked with Steve Coon last fall about restoring the Bank One Building he told Mr Coon that he was considering using the building as an Industrial Museum.

He said the city has “a certain amount of liberty” who buys buildings, but he wished bids would have been accepted, following the procedures outlined in Section 200.09 of the Codified Ordinance of the city of Middletown that states any city-owned property valued at more than $5,000 must be advertised in the newspaper or general circulation in the city, and the city should receive bids for at least 15 calendar days.

“The city should get the highest and best price they can get,” Robinette said. “There should have been a public competitive process so they could test the market.”
I agree.

The building is valued at $137,980, according to the Butler County Auditor’s Office.
When Mr. Thatcher owned this property it had a value of $225,000. Did the Auditor’s Office know that this was now income property? Did they know that this property was just recently declared historic and historic funding would be available?…I think not.

This is nothing more than an inside deal.

The other city owned properties were advertised for sale on the city web site and multi-listings. Why wasn’t the Bank One property handled the same way?

With two attorneys sitting on city council why didn’t they speak up about the sale of Bank One? 

September 26, 2013

Staff wishes to appropriate an additional $46,000 out of Downtown Fund 481 to make the required lease repairs. Repairs will be made as follows:

 Roof repair………………. $ 3,200

 Carpet Replacement…….. $18,000

 HVAC repairs…………… $22,000

 Parking Lot………………. $ 2,000

 Misc Interior……………….. $ 800

 Total………………………$46,000

 MUM rent was raised by $50,000 spread over the five year period to recoup the costs of repairs. As rent is paid by MUM, it will be returned to the Downtown Fund to be appropriated for other activities. 

So will this $46,000 debt of tax payer money be paid back by the new owner over the next five years or is this another gift from City Hall and part of the $135,000 deal? Yep..this deal just keeps getting sweeter and sweeter.

Then we also find another lease agreement between the City of Middletown and the Middletown Historical Society in the amount of $100.00 per month for storage room in the basement of Bank One.
Yes sir....this deal just keeps getting better and better

Blue7
Downtown Middletown Inc was not involved in this transaction.
Mr Robinette and Mr Coon are the investors that placed the highest bids on the
Bank One property.
We all need to ask the question why wasn’t this TOT transaction stopped during
the executive session? Why on earth was this mess every allowed to go before
City Council when they knew the rule of law had not been followed?
Where was Mr. Landen when the sell of this property was discussed during executive
session?

An Exception: Closed Meetings or Sessions

The general rule is that all meetings of public bodies must be open to the public. If a public body wants to hold a closed or "executive" session, it must identify a specific statutory exemption. Under the Ohio Open Meetings Act, a public body may hold a closed session when it is dealing with one of seven subject-area exemptions found in http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/121.22" rel="nofollow - Ohio Rev. Code § 121.22(G) . The seven exemptions are for meetings dealing with the following topics:

• the appointment, employment, dismissal, discipline, promotion, demotion, or compensation of a public employee or official, or the investigation of charges or complaints against a public employee, official, licensee, or regulated individual, unless the public employee, official, licensee, or regulated individual requests a public hearing (this exemption does not apply to the discipline of an elected official for conduct related to the performance of his or her duties);
• the purchase or sale of real estate for public purposes;
• pending or imminent litigation;
• negotiations or bargaining sessions with public employees concerning their compensation or other terms and conditions of their employment;
• matters required to be kept confidential by federal law or regulations or state statutes;
• details relative to the security arrangements and emergency response protocols for a public body or a public office;
• matters involving trade secrets (but only in connection with local hospitals).

The exemptions make it permissible for a public body to close a portion of a meeting; they do not require it to do so. To close a session, a public body must identify the exemption justifying closure on the record during an open meeting, and a majority of members present must vote to hold a closed session. No formal action may be taken during a closed session.

A handful of public bodies may close their meetings to the public when dealing with additional topics, listed in http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/121.22" rel="nofollow - Ohio Rev. Code § 121.22(E) . To do so, however, the members must unanimously vote to close the meeting. See page 14 of the Attorney General's http://www.ag.state.oh.us/legal/pubs/Ohio_Sunshine_Laws_2008.pdf" rel="nofollow - guide for details.

For more information on the exceptions to the open-meetings requirements, see the http://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/files/Publications/Publications-for-Legal/Sunshine-Laws/Sunshine-Laws-Manual.aspx" rel="nofollow - 2012 Sunshine Laws Manual and the http://www.rcfp.org/ogg/index.php?op=browse&state=OH" rel="nofollow - Open Government Guide: Ohio .

What Are Your Remedies If You Are Denied Access?

If you believe that a public body has violated your rights, you can sue in state court. Under Ohio law, any person may file a lawsuit for violation of the Open Meetings Act in the court of common pleas for the county where the meeting in question took place. If you succeed in a lawsuit, you can obtain a court order requiring that a meeting or meetings be made open to the public in the future, that a public body satisfy its notice obligations, or that a public body provide access to minutes improperly withheld. In addition, if you go to court and win, the court must force the public body to pay you a $500 civil penalty, and it may order the public body to pay your attorneys' fees. However, if you go to court and lose, a court might order you to pay the winning public body's attorneys' fees, if it determines that your legal claim was frivolous. This would not happen unless your legal claim were utterly and obviously without any merit. If you want to file a lawsuit for violation of the Open Meetings Act, you must file your lawsuit within two years of the violation in question.

In the event that you are denied access to a meeting or class of meetings, you probably want to pursue an informal resolution before filing a lawsuit, which ordinarily is a costly and slow solution. You should contact the public body in question and inform it that you believe your rights have been violated and that you are willing to bring a legal action. You should submit your complaint in writing whenever possible. If the public body continues to deny your request for access, you should consider filing a lawsuit. There may be public interest organizations that would be willing to take on your case for free or for a reduced rate. Please see the http://www.dmlp.org/legal-guide/finding-legal-help" rel="nofollow - Finding Legal Help section for details on finding legal representation.

ORC 1.22(G)(2) To consider the purchase of property for public purposes, or for the sale of property at competitive bidding, if premature disclosure of information would give an unfair competitive or bargaining advantage to a person whose personal, private interest is adverse to the general public interest. No member of a public body shall use division (G)(2) of this section as a subterfuge for providing covert information to prospective buyers or sellers. A purchase or sale of public property is void if the seller or buyer of the public property has received covert information from a member of a public body that has not been disclosed to the general public in sufficient time for other prospective buyers and sellers to prepare and submit offers.