niedbala@observer-reporter.com
WAYNESBURG - A dispute involving ownership of the historic Monon Center in Greensboro likely will continue following an appeal filed Tuesday with Greene County Court.
Monon Center Inc., the nonprofit corporation that owns the 103-year-old building, filed an appeal challenging the value of the property as determined by a court-appointed board of viewers as part of condemnation proceedings.
Greensboro Borough has been attempting to gain ownership of the building and last August filed a notice of condemnation with the court.
The corporation earlier agreed not to contest the condemnation while both sides attempted to work out a purchase price. When negotiations apparently failed, a three-member board of viewers was appointed to decide the property's value.
The board of viewers set the value of the property at $37,100. The corporation and borough also had agreed the borough would pay $1,000 for a log cabin on one of the lots and $1,900 for stipulated legal costs and fees.
Attorney John Stets, who represents the corporation, said the corporation disagrees with the value established for the property by the board of viewers.
He noted an appraisal completed by the borough had underestimated the size of the building by about 20 percent. The corporation has asked the Greene County Court to hear an appeal on the board of viewer's decision.
Greensboro Borough Council, for its part, has agreed with the board of viewers' determination and last week submitted a check for $40,000 to the court, borough attorney Farley Toothman said.
"We had hoped we would have the valuation behind us," Toothman said, "but we look forward to continuing the debate on the value with their appeal." Toothman said that with the borough's payment to the court, the borough now can take possession of the building.
The stone building was constructed as a school and used for that purpose until the mid-1960s, when it was abandoned and donated to the borough. In 1974, council deeded the property for $1 to the corporation.
The building was used as a museum and community center but has been closed for many years and fallen into disrepair.
Council wants the building so it can use it for borough offices and a community center. The corporation had planned to sell it and use the proceeds to benefit the community.
The corporation also recently attempted to sell artifacts that were in the museum. That sale, however, was halted by the court in July on a motion filed by the state attorney general's office.
The attorney general maintains laws governing non-profits would prohibit property given to the center for charitable purposes from being disposed of without an order from the court.
Some of the artifacts may have been donated to the center with restrictions prohibiting them from being sold, an attorney general spokesman said.
The attorney general is now reviewing the center's records regarding the donations and will present its findings to the court.