BROOKINGS – The Brookings City Council approved purchasing some land adjacent to the City & County Government Center Tuesday, but there were concerns about the terms of the deal.

The land will be used for a parking lot in the future.

The plot is located just south of city hall, on the corner of Sixth Avenue and Front Street, and is a bit irregular in shape. It is owned by Sarantis Theodosopoulos. The land has three rentals on it now, according to Kevin Catlin, assistant to the city manager.

The agenda included two maps of the land; one shows a future parking lot with 44 stalls, and the other has 48 stalls.

The extra parking is necessary, Catlin said, because during some events at city hall, “parking is pretty tight.” The lot will be used mostly for city staff during the day, freeing the lot to the west of city hall for patrons, he said.

The final deal is for $675,000 and two plots of land the city owns. One is on 12th Street South and Medary Avenue, the other on Western Avenue, said City Manager Jeff Weldon. They are former transformer or substation sites, part of the electrical utility infrastructure. Both parcels total about an acre in size and are tax-exempt. They have not been appraised, he added.

The city and county operate under a 48/52 cost structure respectively, Catlin said. That makes the city’s payment on the purchase price to be $324,000.

The estimated cost of constructing the parking lot is $300,000, and the city’s share is $144,000, bringing the city’s total for the project to $468,000, Catlin said.

An initial down payment of $100,000 is due now, with the balance payable next year, said City Attorney Steve Britzman. The closing date is June 30, 2018. Theodosopoulos is responsible for removing the structures on the property.

A few of the councilors pointed out the resolution was only for the purchase of the land. Britzman said there would be an additional procedure to handle the transfer of the lots.

Councilor Dan Hansen had concerns about the deal.

“The land we’re giving away has value. Can we use that as part of our 48 percent?” Hansen said.

“I think they’ll be factored in at closing,” Britzman said, adding the value of the two lots will be considered.

Hansen stressed it was important for the council to recognize it was giving away land.

There was further discussion about the land.

Weldon said the parking lot couldn’t be built, or even prepped for it yet this year, adding the earliest work could commence is next summer.

Councilor Holly Tilton Byrne asked if the city was locked into the two parking lot designs. Weldon said those were suggestions from the city engineer’s department.

Councilor Nick Wendell said he had a lot of “sticker shock” at the price of the land but thought the prudent thing to do was move forward with the process before someone else buys it.

Councilor Mary Kidwiler stressed there was no timeline on the parking lot and it’s “all about location.” She also said she had sticker shock but agreed with Wendell.

“We don’t buy this now, we have lost our opportunity for decades,” Kidwiler said.

Councilor Patty Bacon thought the time to buy was now but agreed with Hansen about getting more information, saying she wanted “to know a closer dollar amount we’re voting to spend.” She acknowledged shock over the price, as well, but realized the price was fair, due to the location.

“You can’t create more land,” Councilor Ope Niemeyer said, adding the council should “purchase property when you can.”

He said the two surplus properties had value and suggested going back to the county commissioners and asking them to pay for more of the parking lot to make up for the land the city was putting in the deal.

Tilton Byrne wanted to know if a parking ramp could be built in the current location.

Mayor Keith Corbett said it had not been researched for the city, but South Dakota State University had looked into it for the campus and found the cost “was astronomical.”

Weldon said he did not know of any analysis done for the city, but added land would be cheaper than the cost of a parking ramp.

Shawn Storhaug was the only audience member to speak.

“You guys are giving a lot,” he said.

Contact Jodelle Greiner at jgreiner@brookingsregister.com.