By ERIC C. RODENBERG
AntiqueWeek Associate Editor MARQUETTE COUNTY, Mich. — The sale of a piece of property should be fairly uncomplicated for a seasoned auction veteran such as Michigan auctioneer Douglas LaFoille; however, when the property in question has a group of community activists behind it trying to stop the sale, things can rapidly turn ugly.
“A lot of times, I wish I could turn back the clock,” he said. “I wish I could have avoided this auction. There are people who are undermining this auction at every level. They’re making it look like the auctioneer is the bad guy. But, I signed the contract, and I will get the best price I can for my client.”
LaFoille signed a contract with West Branch Township in Marquette County late last summer to sell a 53,000 square-foot recreational facility originally constructed by the Air Force for use by personnel at K.I. Sawyer Air Force Base. When the base closed in 1995, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) gave the township the building.
Locally dubbed The W, it has been unused for the past two years. Township officials say they simply couldn’t afford to keep the facility open at the cost of $45,000 a month. The township had about $500,000 in its bank account when it took possession of the building, according to township clerk Michelle Christal. A few years later, the account was down to $26,000.
“That’s about how much it drained out of the township,” she said.
The DOD was still completing a $1 million renovation when the air base closed. The mammoth facility includes three full-size gymnasiums, an Olympic pool and indoor track with banked and padded lanes, as well as numerous pieces of fitness equipment.
The federal government spared little expense on The W. It’s the ultimate fitness center. The trouble is that three organizations have attempted to operate the facility – the township, the YMCA and a local community association – and each has failed financially.
Despite its dismal track record as a sustainable entity, there is an active group of about “20 local community activists” – Community Hand Up – who believe they can make the facility work. One of the most vocal members, Lisa Johnson, acknowledges it will cost $400,000 a year to operate the facility. She figures by not opening the pool, they could cut that figure in half – roughly $200,000 a year.
She believes former managers have failed in at least two aspects.
“Number one, they did not go out and try to establish community partnerships,” Johnson said. “They did not get people vested into the project. And, second, they did not make it more energy efficient.”
It is the plan of Community Hand Up to solicit private, corporate and community funds for reopening The W. Johnson also wants to apply for any available grants.
It is difficult to apply for grants, however, when one doesn’t own the building. And the building has been legally contracted by the owners to sell at auction; that’s the rub.
West Branch owns full title to The W, and it has entered into a contract with LaFoille to auction the building and contents on May 21.
Johnson said Community Hand Up wants Marquette County officials to step in and “negotiate” a price with West Branch.
“That’s just not going to happen,” said Jack Heidtman, supervisor of West Branch Township. “It’s just a given, that the county doesn’t want anything to do with it … they’ve got money problems of their own. They’re looking at having to reduce the number of deputies in the county. There’s just no extra money to throw around.”
Heidtman has served on the West Branch Township board for 30 years.
“That building has failed three times,” he said. “We tried, but it’s just not feasible … we figured it cost us $1,500 a day to operate the facility … Right now, we’re just trying to recoup some of our money. I think we owe that much to the taxpayers.”
But Heidtman and LaFoille now allege that members of Community Hand Up have tried to “sabotage” and “undermine” the upcoming auction.
“They’ve tried to sabotage the whole project,” Heidtman said. “There’s been misinformation … they’ve tried to throw up every roadblock they could.”
Johnson counters that neither she, nor to her knowledge any member of Community Hand Up, has interfered with the upcoming auction.
For his part, LaFoille has been told that “you need to stay out of this … this is not your business.” He said prospective bidders have been intimidated.
LaFoille is not a whiner, nor easily intimidated. He worked the streets of a large metropolitan city, including stints as a homicide detective and undercover drug enforcement agent. He retired after 20 years on the police force (“a drug deal went south, and I got busted up pretty bad,” he said), and went to the more peaceful life – or so he thought – of auctioneering.
During the past 13 years, LaFoille at The Auction Block Plus has sold antiques, coins and conducted farm sales and numerous estate sales. He can be reached at 906-341-7355 or through www.auctionblockplus.com |
