By NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Atrium Hotel process is continuing forward, though at a slower pace than some may have hoped.
"Normally, we don't just jump right into rehab or preservation of the property before you hold title," said City Manager Jeff Cantrell. "In this case, we're doing some of that right now. We're doing some of the mowing, weed abatement to stabilize the property, make it look at least somewhat presentable. We're doing that because we haven't been able to close on the property yet and we know that there's a community anticipation that we do that."
Anyone who has bought or sold property may be familiar with some of the snags the city is experiencing.
"We have to chase down additional confirmation with the surveyor on the legal descriptions to make sure we're grabbing everything that has previously been missed," Cantrell said. "It's not a representation of the city's overlooking anything, but, in prior descriptions, when that property conveyed, there were some defects in some of those descriptions, or maybe they were just not included, but we're wanting to make sure we have that perfected. We also need to, I think, close the file on one or two environmental issues that could encumber or show some liability in the terms of the agreement."
The I's may not all be dotted and the T's all crossed yet, but this is going to happen.
"I think, at the end of the day, we all know that we're going to buy the property," Cantrell said. "If it's got some lead paint in it, we're going to accept that. We pretty well have come to those terms and conclusions. We're pushing through that to make sure we've got that issue caged completely."
Cantrell would not put a specific timeline on the closing at Tuesday's meeting.