County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry is rejecting criticism that the county paid too much forย flood-prone property along River Road.
The 360-page memo is critical of a September 2014 appraisal done for St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church, arguing the valuation relied on a handful of nearby residential sales and the sale of one parcel to a charter school. The appraisal should have looked at more sales to determine a fair market value, he says.
"In essence, the appraisals were commissioned at the same time, for different purposes," Huckelberry wrote. "The appraisal by the church was to gain an independent understanding of the church property's value, as the church was considering retaining the property as well as putting the property on the market."
The firm used by the church, Southwest Appraisal Associates, stated 14 months ago the property it owned was worth $650,000.
This is $281,000 less than the $931,000 the Pima County Board of Supervisors agreed to pay for the land earlier this month.
The county also asked the appraisal firm it initially used โ Baker, Peterson, Baker & Associates โ to update its August 2014 valuation.
The new report suggested the property was worth $890,000, Huckelberry wrote.
During negotiations with the church, the county offered $850,000 but the offer was rejected. St.ย Demetrios paid $1.25 million for the property in 2008.
Supervisor Ally Miller, who questioned the sale price of the land and voted against the purchase, could not be immediately reached for comment.
