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SOUTH JORDAN — Some people living within the boundaries of the Jordan School District are raising questions about a land deal in Daybreak and how much the district paid for it.
It's not like this land isn't in a very nice spot, tucked away at the northwest end of the Daybreak development; but critics say that's not the issue here. They say it's that the Jordan School Board overpaid for the land, which currently has arsenic levels that are too high, and the deal still gives too much control to Kennecott.
As Tim Ellingson, a Jordan School Board candidate and critic of the land purchase, walked past the fields near 10200 South and about 5000 West Wednesday, he didn’t like what he saw.
“They should have been looking for bargains in other areas that are growing, rather than buying premium land with all these extra bells and whistles attached,” Ellingson said.
His concerns lie within appraisals, environmental studies and the purchase agreement itself — all of which were obtained by KSL.
The paperwork shows the district spent just over $7 million for the 32 acres. Appraisals — which were for 29 acres — ranged from the district's estimate of $5.3 million to Kennecott Land's $6.6 million, and that took into account high arsenic levels that needed to be fixed.
They should have been looking for bargains in other areas that are growing, rather than buying premium land with all these extra bells and whistles attached.
–Tim Ellingson, school board candidate
Ellingson also says Kennecott Land will have a say in things like school designs. “They’ve put a limit on the number of portables, which is what Jordan School District uses to adjust to capacity changes,” he said.
While he is a candidate for school board, Ellingson isn’t the only one publicly airing concerns.
In a phone conversation Wednesday, Peggy Jo Kennett, the lone school board member to vote against the deal, told KSL she was concerned about the cost, the fact that there was no independent review of the cleanup efforts, and that the district had to buy an insurance policy for the land — something she says has never been done before.
Still, the rest of the school board elected to make the deal, saying space in schools is already in short supply and buying land now instead of later will be cheaper.
Jordan School Board member Susan Pulsipher, who's seat is being challenged by Ellingson, said she thinks the purchase was “absolutely worth the money.”
“I think, in the long run, we’ll actually save money with this piece of property,” Pulsipher said.
As for Kennecott, spokesman Kyle Bennett said there's a lot of value in the property, and this is a site that's basically ready to build, in terms of things like utilities.
KSL News also spoke to an expert at the Department of Environmental Quality. Environmental scientist Doug Bacon said so long as Kennecott complies with the environmental standard at the end of its cleanup, there should be no further environmental concerns with that land.
