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Litchfield Park city council sucked into maintaining a park the city doesn't even own!
Suncor Development Co. promised to "give" the park to the city of Litchfield Park but never did. And the suckers on the Litchfield Park city council had been spending tax dollars maintaining the park even though they never got a title to the land. These government nannies always claim that they are so much smarter then the serfs they rule over, but in this case they were too dumb to get the title to the park before spending tons of tax dollars maintaining it. Deteriorating park a dilemma for Litchfield Park by David Madrid - Apr. 11, 2012 09:50 PM The Republic | azcentral.com For the past two years, Litchfield Park has spent thousands of dollars maintaining a park in the middle of the city that it can't buy and that is deteriorating. The 5.6-acre Scout Park, in a neighborhood near downtown, was used for one of the city's largest arts festivals. Now it is in disrepair with dying grass and trees, a playground that needs paint, a basketball court with no hoops and backboards, sagging picnic tables and shabby benches. The city spent more than $37,000 on park maintenance, repair, water, electricity and staff time from March 24, 2010, to August 2011, keeping the park maintained for the Native American Arts Festival, which eventually moved to another location. But a private company that bought the park in 2011 for $250,000 is now asking $1.68 million for it, which the city won't pay. "As strange as it seems, it is a park that is used by the public, but it really is private property, and apparently it always has been private property," Litchfield Park Mayor Thomas Schoaf said. [That's not strange at all! What's strange is the Litchfield Park spent tons of money maintaining a park it NEVER had legal title to!!!] The confusion stems from city officials saying the park was promised to them by the past two owners. Despite three other parks being donated to the city, Scout Park was not. In 1986, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. sold the Wigwam resort and some land, including Scout Park, to Suncor Development Co. City officials say Suncor intended to give the park to the city, but Suncor sold the Wigwam and Scout Park to Kabuto International Phoenix Inc. in 1990. Kabuto Arizona Properties, which owned the Wigwam and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2009, verbally promised the park to the city but reneged, City Manager Darryl Crossman said. The problem is that George Lee, former president of Kabuto Arizona Properties, declined to put his promises in writing, Crossman said. Lee and Jon Reynolds Jr., Kabuto's attorney, did not return calls and e-mails. While the city was still trying to reach an agreement with Kabuto to buy the park, Kabuto sold Scout Park in 2011 to Las Vegas-based Dragon and Crane for $250,000. Now, Dragon and Crane is asking $1.68 million for the park. Crossman said that asking price is so out of line that the city chose not to respond to it. Meanwhile, the park is deteriorating. The city maintained it until August hoping to hold the premiere Native American Arts Festival there. The city says it spent more than $37,000 on maintenance, repair, water, electricity and staff time. The city has not been reimbursed, Crossman said. "We looked at it as more of an investment at that time rather than letting the property deteriorate," he said. "We were able to bill them (Kabuto) for high weeds and that type of thing, which they did pay." [An investment??? That's what people always say when they get screwed by con men!!!!] The park is in such bad shape that resident Mike Cartsonis runs a hose from his Litchfield Park home to water two olive trees. In 1968, Cartsonis built his house that faces the park and the trees that are now more than 40 years old. Crossman said "the condition of that park is an embarrassment to our community." The mayor said that in addition to Scout Park, the city must own the pathways around the park. "We have a whole system of pathways and those pathways are critical to Litchfield Park and to the whole ambience of Litchfield Park," he said. The City Council is scheduled to discuss the park at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Florence Brinton Litchfield Memorial Library, 101 W. Wigwam Blvd. Documents show the battle to determine the fate of the park: • In April 2011, the city offered $200,000 to Kabuto for the park. • On May 12, Vice Mayor Paul Faith and Crossman met with Kabuto International Corp. in San Francisco after the City Council agreed to offer as much as $250,000 for the park. In the meeting, Kabuto's president, Shigeru Sato, said he did not authorize the agreement and asked the city for $450,000. "That was quite a surprise to us," Crossman said of Sato's counteroffer. • On May 19, Crossman sent another letter to Kabuto offering $275,000 for the park and pathway leading to a pedestrian and golf cart underpass off the southwestern corner of the park. The city also offered to buy land across the street from Scout Park -- Scout Lodge is used by the Boy Scouts -- for $30,000, bringing the total to $305,000. • On Aug. 31, Kabuto sold Scout Park to Dragon and Crane Corp. for $250,000. Dragon and Crane is listed as a home-based business by the Nevada secretary of state. Its registered agent is listed as Watanabe & Nakagawa Tax Service, Las Vegas. • On Dec. 5, Yoshikatsu Nakagawa, director and president of Dragon and Crane, wrote that Dragon and Crane bought Scout Park as a vacant lot and not a park. He wrote that while the company wanted to be friendly, it also must pursue a profit from its investment. • On Oct. 7, Dragon and Crane declined to sell the park to the city. • On Dec. 29, Nakagawa asks a minimum $300,000 an acre for the park, or $1.68 million. Nakagawa said Dragon and Crane would wait about five years before selling because it can't get that price in the current economic environment. He offered annual licenses of $950 a month with the city assuming responsibility for maintenance and insurance for Scout Park and Scout Lodge. Nakagawa did not return calls or e-mails. Cartsonis accuses the "park owners" of aggressively making the park a "derelict property." "They put a commercial property value on the site, and it has no commercial potential at all," said Cartsonis. "It's not on an arterial road. It's not on a main road. It's ridiculous. They're either doing it for spite or else they don't give a damn." |