Heidorn home bought to expand power plant property

A $315,000 property purchase proposal being sought by the City of Jasper has caused some questioning from Jasper residents.

The Utility Service Board approved the purchase of the residence located at 1480 Knust Street during Monday’s meeting and the issue was presented to the Common Council last night. The utility service board began looking at the property after learning the owners, Steven and Judith Heidorn, were wanting to downsize. The home is 5000 square feet and sits on 1.3 acres.

Utility Service Board President Wayne Schuetter explained the purchase would create approximately 10 contiguous acres of property for the power plant.

The City conducted three official appraisals of the home. According to Utilities General Manger Bud Hauersperger the first appraisal was $400,000 and the second was $300,000. “We decided to have a third done because of the gap between the first two, the third came in at $352,000 and we negotiated with the owners to use the average of the two lower appraisals to determine the cost.”

The Heidorns agreed to a sales price of $315,o00 for the large home, but comments from the community had council members concerned about the price and the reasoning behind the purchase.

When presented with the resolution to purchase the property Councilman Ray Howard asked if there was a plan for the use of the property.

Hauersperger explained there were several options being discussed. These include a natural gas filling station for the natural gas powered trucks being considered for transportation of the miscanthus bales. Other options are to create an information center for the Biomass Power Plant for potential tours or to use it for storage that is further from the parking lot for the Jasper Riverwalk.

Councilman Tom Schmidt asked about the expense to which Hauersperger explained about the three separate appraisals and the size of the house contributing to the value. He also stated the building purchase would be paid from a fund that was created for potential improvements/upkeep for the coal power plant.

$22,000 a month goes into the fund and it has accumulated a large amount for the use of improvements, however with the new lease with Jasper Clean Energy the city doesn’t expect to do any improvements. If the lease falls through Hauersperger stated the extra property would make the entire power plant property more attractive for another proposed use.

Tom Schmidt then asked if the money had accumulated in a fund for improvements to the power plant and the city doesn’t expect to make improvements, why not use the money to alleviate the rate increases for the city customers. Hauersperger stated the city could not use the money for that due to legal restraints on the appropriation of the funds. Additionally the fund is required to be prepared for other electrical problems, such as a improvements to sub-stations or potential repairs.

Jasper Clean Energy President Jay Catasein has stated he would consider a separate lease for the property and the city could recoup some of the cost through that lease. Councilman Kevin Manley inquired if Catasein is interested in leasing the property, could the city negotiate the lease prior to making the purchase.

Hauersperger stated the property has not been available in the past and the Heidorns want to sell the property. Hauersperger reiterated the property would add to the overall value of the power plant.

Tom Scmidt stated he has received a lot of inquiries and general dissent from the public over the purchase of the property. He felt if the Utility Service Board had done a better job of informing the public the purchase would have been better received.

Hauersperger agreed and explained he had received many e-mails regarding the purchase but once he explained the reasoning for the purchase, the citizens were more understanding of the city’s position.

Before the council voted on the purchase of the property, Hauersperger added the Heidorns had requested a 90 day lease for $1.00 to allow time to vacate the property.

The council approved the purchase of the Heidorn property and the 90 day lease terms for the Heidorns.

USB President Schuetter stated if the Utility Service Board had put out a press release regarding the purchase it may have alleviated some of the upset citizens. He also pointed out the media was not in attendance at the electric committee meeting where all of the stipulations and discovery had been discussed.

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