Leavenworth City Council and community meet

 In a July 25 meeting, the Leavenworth City Council tabled the motion to sign a letter of intent to investigate a proposed land swap with Willkommen LLC owner Thomas Lin. Over 100 people attended the meeting in person and via Zoom. The conversation resolved around the City’s desire for a year-round swimming pool, a top priority resulting from a recent recreational survey taken by local residents. Upper Valley Parks and Recreation Service Area (PRSA) looked into the pool’s price and estimated a cost of $18-25 million.

            After citing the preceding chatter and controversy on social media, Florea reset the issue. The mayor explained that at a recent Council retreat, the group discussed the potential expansion of the Wastewater Treatment Plant which neighbors the Public Works Department. This necessitated more land for Public Works. The Council approached Lin about buying his car wash property at 1451 US Highway 2 that the City could incorporate into the Public Works campus. Lin proposed a swap of his land for a portion of the City’s pool property at 694 US Highway 2. The proposition included an agreement that Lin would redevelop the pool giving the Leavenworth and PRSA the chance to lease.

Florea admitted that the offer appeared too good to be true, but merited investigation. He emphasized that the meeting’s objective was to decide whether the City should pursue the proposal.

“If that could be true, wouldn’t you want your city to get more details and to find out if that is a serious proposal, if we could get a win-win?” Florea asked. “The only way this would ever happen was if it guaranteed us an ongoing pool. This is not about giving a developer something that he can flip and turn and make something else out of. This is about getting our community a pool in a win-win kind of situation. My wife of 49 years would divorce me if I took her pool away.” Lin, who joined the meeting via Zoom, elaborated on the cost of the proposal to the community. Depending on the cost of the pool, he estimated residents could pay $15-$25 per month over a 20-year period.  “Please be civilized when you criticize Carl and the City Council because you voted them in. They’re your neighbors. They’re your friends. They represent you,” Lin said. “All I ask of you is keep an open mind. I don’t have to do it. We all can do it. It’s not that expensive if we divide it up…There’s no underhanded agenda, there’s no pool swap, there’s nothing. It’s just an idea right now.”

Councilmen Marco Aurilio and Tibor Lak moved and seconded a motion to approve and authorize the Florea to sign a letter of intent for the property exchange between the City and Willkommen LLC. The mayor then asked for Council comments. Councilwoman Sharon Waters, admittedly emotional, read a statement.

“Being here for so many years, I feel like I have to guard the area,” Waters said. “I don’t want it turned into anything else. That’s where we go. That’s where we have our family reunions, we have picnics, we sit and watch swim meets. All that stuff as far as I can see would be gone.” Waters brought up a concern that became a theme of the meeting. What exactly does a letter of intent mean and why does the City need one to explore this matter? Councilman Clint Strand explained that a letter of intent holds two different meanings in the business and municipal worlds. From the City’s perspective, the letter simply begins the due diligence process for Leavenworth and allows them to spend money to investigate the land swap. Strand, and other council members, emphasized that the letter contains many “off ramps” and does not signify a firm commitment. “Either party may cease negotiations at any time for any reason,” Strand said. “That’s the overarching umbrella. There are no “Yeah, buts.” That’s the end all be all. If it doesn’t look good, if it smells fishy, we’re out.” After the Council shared their thoughts, several citizens spoke on the matter, most opposed to signing the letter of intent. Leavenworth resident Alex Allen visits the pool with his wife and children almost daily. Allen feared having the pool owned by a body other than the city.

“Under no circumstance where we sell public property to a private entity will that be our pool. That will be Mr. Lin’s pool,” Allen said. “I would rather take scoped-down changes to the pool to make it viable in just the summer than to have a full aquatic center that we can use year-round that is not actually owned by the City.”

Hali Fiano is president of Leavenworth Swim Team. She commended Lin’s character and encouraged investigating the proposal.  “This gentleman has been working really hard to get us a pool,” Fiano said. “We’ve all been working really hard to get a better pool in this city that actually functions and serves everyone. As far as I’m concerned, I would appreciate the letter of intent being signed, so that we could at least look into it and we could at least comment and find out more information.” The meeting lasted nearly three hours. After thorough discussion, Florea and the Council agreed that the matter needed more discussion and consideration. Aurilio and Lak officially rescinded the motion and second. Florea emphasized transparency and expressed gratitude for the public’s interest.  “I think we’ve heard. We’ve had a great interchange. I think if we move forward, we’ll get some clarification,” Florea said, adding some levity. “Come more often. Do we have to do really controversial stuff to get you here? Because I can come up with some stuff.” “I think when the public takes time out of their busy schedules and spends hours with us in the evening, that is multiple steps forward,” Councilwoman Anne Hessburg said.