HOWELL – The Howell Township Council is preparing to sell the building that houses the administrative offices of the Howell K-8 School District.
During a recent meeting, Mayor Theresa Berger, Deputy Mayor Evelyn O’Donnell, Councilman John Bonevich, Councilwoman Pamela Richmond and Councilman Thomas Russo voted “yes” on a motion to authorize the sale of property that is located at 198-200 Squankum-Yellowbrook Road, Howell, after determining the property is not needed for public use.
The property will be sold at an open public sale to the highest bidder. According to a resolution, an appraisal report prepared for the property determined the parcel’s fair market value is $1.2 million.
An auction will take place at 10 a.m. on Oct. 17 in the main meeting room of the Howell municipal building. The minimum price for all bids is $1.45 million. Howell purchasing agent Michael Rizzo has been designated to conduct the sale of the property, according to the resolution.
Municipal officials want the closing on the property to take place no later than Dec. 31. They said the property is developed with an administration building that is being leased to the Howell K-8 School District Board of Education.
The township will terminate the lease with the school district when it closes on the sale to the purchaser.
Ron Sanasac, the assistant superintendent for business administration in the Howell K-8 School District, said on Oct. 4 that school district administrators have been aware of the council’s plan to sell the building on Squankum-Yellowbrook Road and to place it back on the tax roll.
Sanasac said it is expected that the school district’s administrative offices will move to the Howell municipal building on Route 9 north.
The purchaser of the property on Squankum-Yellowbrook Road will be required to demolish a house that is on the parcel and “to abide by all appropriate zoning regulations and codes for the Special Economic Development zone, including rectifying zoning violations preceding the date of closing.”
The parcel at 198-200 Squankum-Yellowbrook Road is adjacent to a New Jersey American Water facility.
Municipal officials said the township “reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to either accept or reject any bid it deems in the township’s best interest. The township further reserves the right to reject all bids where the highest bid is not accepted. No bid shall be fully accepted until the passage of a resolution by the Township Council.”