The First Bank & Trust in Luther has a deal for the Town of Luther.
Bank President Gary Roy and the bank’s attorney Matthew Winton spoke before the Luther Town Board Tuesday night offering a land trade. The pair proposed trading the bank’s Main Street property for three acres owned by the town next to the new Dollar General building facing Hwy 66. The land is on the old tennis court and basketball court close to the baseball fields.
Although the proposed swap has been the talk of the town, Board members said they were surprised at the proposal they received officially Tuesday night and requested more information. Winton indicated they wanted to formally approach the board before embarking on costly survey work and appraisals. The board agreed to move forward in good faith.
What’s in it for The Town of Luther? The prospect of acquiring an historic building on Main Street with an estimated market value of nearly $114,000.
What’s in it for the Bank? “We’re out of room and parking. We have 13 employees and we are committed to staying here and growing,” said Roy. The bank would use the land to build a new facility that would have ample parking and accessibility to its clients.
As for the current bank, “the building is nearly move-in ready for Town Hall,” Roy said as the bank building is being offered as the new Town Hall that is currently housed across Main Street a bit from the bank.
There’s no word on the value of the land the bank is seeking.
Visitors and residents of Luther use Town Hall to pay their water and trash bill (and tickets), meet with staff including the Fire Chief or attend court among other things.
Anticipating moving ahead with the process, Mayor Cecilia Taft asked to table another agenda item requesting $1,000 to replace the carpet in the current Town Hall.
It would be nice if the town would invest in the children and community by improving the parks and recreation areas rather than selling them off and tearing them out. But hey, I’m just a local parent who has kids that play on that court from time to time.
Also, the 1911 date shown on the county assessor site is not the date of ownership. They put 11/11/1911 on all docs that are older than like the 70s or 80s. To know the exact date of original title you’d have to chain the legal in the county clerks office and find the original deed.