Board hears options on Crest View site

Andrew Wainer

Ocean View School District Supt. James Tarwater on Tuesday presented the

board of trustees two financial options on how to use the district’s

closed Crest View school site.

Tarwater cited a district study showing that the sale of the site to

build a Wal-Mart would net it $41 million over a 65-year lease.

The other option, selling the land and developing it into a residential

zone would bring the city and the district far less -- $7.5 million,

according to the study.

Whether to lease or sell the site has become a point of deep contention

between district officials and some Crest View community members.

Community members oppose Wal-Mart because they say it would create

additional traffic, crowds and noise in their neighborhood. They advocate

turning the area into a residential zone.

The local United Food and Commercial Workers Union has also contributed

$10,000 to the Save Crest View campaign because Wal-Mart typically pays

its workers less than prevailing union wages.

On the other hand, district officials say the sale of the site is crucial

to upgrading the infrastructure of schools, which need about $28 million

more in repairs, according to the board of trustees. They say leasing the

site to build a Wal-Mart is the only way to raise the money needed to do

the repairs.

Trustee Tracy Pellman said the profits from leasing the site would

provide the district enough money to be eligible for matching funds from

the state for school repairs.

Pellman emphasized that the lease would allow the district to repair its

schools without raising taxes and would also provide the city additional

income.

The district’s report estimates that both the city and the district would

receive about $400,000 annually through a lease to Wal-Mart.

Income from tax revenue would be adjusted every five years for inflation,

so the city and district would receive an increasing amount from the

lease.

On the other hand, they have estimated that turning the site into a

residential zone would yield $20,000 annually in tax revenue.

The report and the board meeting did little to bring the two groups

together.

“Their math is all wrong,” resident Marvin Josephson said.

The report, which was first unveiled at an Oct. 4 city council meeting,

was described as “a joke” by Crest View United members. They contend that

Wal-Mart’s practice of employing mostly part-time workers with no

benefits would actually hurt the city. The low-wage employees would

contribute less to the city in terms of taxes than would unionized

employees with benefits.

After learning of the possible sale of the site to Wal-Mart, Crest View

residents gathered enough signatures on a petition to put the sale to a

citywide vote.

The vote on whether to rezone the property at Talbert Avenue and Beach

Boulevard, will be held in March.