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ALLIANCE AREA PRESERVATION SOCIETY

MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD APRIL 30, 2001

In attendance: Robb Hyde, Evelyn Brown, Pat Sacha, Karen Twyman, Frank Barrett, Joe Zelasko

The group reviewed and discussed the recent court decision, as outlined by Robb in the letter sent to the membership on April 26 (copied below).

And because our number in attendance was so small ( many scheduled conflicts reported) we all agreed that the larger membership must collectively decide whether to make another counter offer as recommended by our president. Robb has suggested we make the Straubhaars a final offer of $50,000 for the house and contents. Some other members recommend we stand by our last offer of $42,000 and do not go over that limit. We need your input !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Therefore we are scheduling an emergency meeting for Monday, May 14 at 7:00 p.m. at the High School Teacher's Lounge. We need to decide what to do and don't feel we can keep delaying this project. It has been over a year that we have been meeting in our attempt to purchase and refurbish this landmark house. Please try to attend and if you cannot, please contact me or Robb and share your thoughts and or vote. If any of you did not receive the April 26th letter from Robb, please let us know & we will get you a copy pronto.

Respectively submitted,

Pat Sacha

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Letter sent by Robb Hyde on April 26, 2001

Dear _____________,

I wanted to write and share with you my thoughts on the current status of the efforts to purchase the Haines House. I am writing everyone who has attended one of our meetings over the past year, as well as people who have expressed interest in our efforts.

The last six months have been a frustrating and confusing time that have stifled much of our shared enthusiasm for the prospect of securing the Haines House as a museum for our community. In spite of the roadblocks that have been put in the way, I still am a firm believer that this is an important cause.

I won't detail the legal squabbles that have kept us from even arriving at a purchase agreement for the House. (Many received a copy of my summary of March 19, 2001. If you would like one, please e-mail me at rhyde@neo.rr.com, or phone at 330-823-2308, and I will send you one) The only way I can think to summarize it is to suggest that the current owners want someone else to pay for their errors in judgment over the past seven years. I don't believe there is any among our numbers who think we should bear that burden.

Nevertheless, the Straubhauers appear to be prepared to litigate the matter indefinitely. Additionally, it has been suggested that they are prepared to sue any number of people associated with the Preservation Society and the Alliance Historical Society for damages resulting from our efforts to purchase the House. They seem to believe that our efforts have prevented them from selling it to anyone else.

It could be suggested that this amounts to a kind of extortion. Unfortunately, the Straubhauers own the Haines House and unless they are compelled otherwise, can keep it until it falls to the ground. The legal avenues to compel them are long, treacherous and expensive. Both the Historical Society and Preservation Society have benefited greatly from the efforts of Bob Hunter, Jr. His selfless work since last summer cannot be minimized. I feel indebted to him in many ways. Our legal efforts need to end with the outcome of this current hearing unless we are prepared to fully support the actual cost of litigation.

If Judge Reinbold voids the Haines House deed restrictions and allows the Straubhauers to keep the antiques and do with them what they will, then we need to peruse the purchase of the House alone. Judge Reinbold can also ask for additional filings and hearing on this matter, or simply suggest that the restrictions are binding. Even this type of ruling leaves us with the Straubhauers as sellers who do not believe we are giving them a fair price. We cannot make them sell the Haines House to us. We can hope that they will see the folly of their ways, but I believe they are more likely to just try to litigate us forever.

I believe we should make one last offer for the Haines House and all of the antiques. The offer I am suggesting feels like a ransom to me, but I firmly believe that we must secure the House now. Further delay hurts not only the building itself but also our ability to remain a cohesive group, raise funds and restore the Haines House.

I suggest that unless the Judge voids the deed restrictions, we make an offer of $50,000 for the House and contents. We will put $5,000 in escrow immediately and have 90 days to finalize our funding. We invite them to find another buyer during that time who will pay more, but if they can't, they must sell it to us. We further stipulate that conditions of the sale include an agreement that prevents either side from further litigation, that all antiques will be returned to the House at the Straubhauer's expense and that they will remove all remaining personal property from the House.

If they do not accept this offer, I believe we have done all that we can do. I don't want to walk away, but I do not have any idea how to proceed beyond that.

I end now once again stating my belief that the Haines House can be a unique symbol of the good things about our community. It is a symbol of the good works of our forbearers, as well as a symbol of our commitment to honor them and preserve this legacy for our children and grandchildren.

I invite you to join me on Monday, April 30 at 7:00 pm in the Alliance High School cafeteria to continue the discussion.

Cordially,

Robb Hyde

© 2001 - Alliance Area Preservation Society. For additional information contact the webmaster at rhyde@neo.rr.com. All rights reserved. Substantial penalty for early withdrawal. Subject to availability. Your mileage may vary.

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