I placed a call but haven't heard back yet. Not sure how many other calls he may have received from concerned citizens or whether he will call back someone who is not a potential buyer. In case he doesn't call back, I was wondering if you have any thoughts on why Agilent would give Jennings a different explanation of things vs. what you were told?
I am not sure but can profer a few possible theories.
First, I obtained my information late morning yesterday from someone at a local real estate office. That agent spoke with an agent at Staubach about 5 minutes prior to my discussion where the information was revealed. It is likely that the Staubach real estate agent would know information about irelands intentions earlier on than Agilent. Consider the line of communications which would have been as follows from ireland to the newspapers:
Another theory is that Agilent and Ireland are crafting clever rhetoric which allows the story to be printed without revealing irelands commitment to purchase at this point in time.
The last theory is that our local real estate agent is spreading rumours; very unlikely since we have known her as a reputable person for years now. But, it is still hearsay. The communications pathway was as follows:
Staubach Agent > Our local Real Estage Agent > Myself > This BBS
Surely, someone on this board could call pretending to be interested in its purchase (perhaps representing a consortium of folks who are interested in its purchase, which would not necessarily be a lie). Clearly, that person should not be myself because I would not be believed. But, everyone now has the information to go directly to the source if they choose to do so.
If Ireland does decide to give up, he needs to save face in front of his flock for fear of looking like a weak leader who couldn't close the deal, so he says that Agilent shafted him and pulled out of the deal, so they lost the property.
By doing this, his lemmings will have Rockaway and the Agilent folks to demonize.
Or another way of looking at it... If Ireland does decide to give up, he needs to save face in front of his flock for fear of looking like a weak leader who couldn't close the deal, so he says that Agilent shafted him and pulled out of the deal, so they lost the property. By doing this, his lemmings will have Rockaway and the Agilent folks to demonize. By building demons, he builds comraderie. Just a thought.
So the township dragged this thing out so long that someone came in and bought the property from under them. What a shame.
A classic example of the criminal being portrayed as the victim.
Of course his feeble-minded flock will buy this hook, line and sinker. What does the Rev care. As long as they keep drinking the Kool-Aid and writting those checks.
To answer your question I'm not sure what to think. If I were to guess I would say that Agilent decided to put the property back on the market in case CC ultimately decided not to buy. Agilent would seem to be in a position to also potentially get a better price depending on bids. CC probably does have the option of matching any higher bids.
What I do not understand is the conflicting information that I have compared to the newspapers. Again, my information is that Ireland decided to buy the property without PB approvals on Tusday Morning. I was told that it was off the market as of Tuesday, AM.
It remains the question of the day. Jennings tried calling the Staubach guy and left a msg but hasnt received any return phone call as of about noon today. That could just be slow response, or his desire not to speak with the press about it, or something else. You're right Rat, the whole thing doesnt make sense. I cant imagine Ireland being stupid enough to stick his neck out further, given all the still undecided issues, like DEP Exemptions, RT's DEP lawsuit, new RT ordinances, other Highlands impacts, pollution remediation, etc. not to mention the miriad of local variances he is depending on getting which are unlikely. Even if he was confident enough to bully his way through the PB in court, there are still too many other, very iffy factors that could bring the entire project crashing down. Unless he feels that he may be able to sell it himself and make a $ if his project goes south. That would also be a tremendous gamble with his parishioners funds since the same unknown factors would effect any other potential buyer. Perhaps the scenerio is something like this. They agreed to allow Agilent to put it back on the market and in doing so signed a new purchase intent agreement that maintained their offer, perhaps included the right to best any others, allowed them to stop paying their monthly stipend to Agilent, etc. Maybe that new agreement was incorrectly interpreted as taking it back off the market and the church buying it. I dont know. I would think a Realtor would be careful to note the distinction, and as you said, they have been reliable in the past with you guys. Unless the Rev is trying to pull another fast one for some reason, I would think he would be calling a press conference announcing that he has completed the purchase. That would bolster his position tremendously, at least on the surface. Guess we will find out sooner or later, one way or the other.
Yup, it sure is confusing. If I were him, I certainly would not take the risk of purchasing w/o approvals. But, it is clear, that he thinks quite differently than most people - - - read - - - a very big ego.
I hope that some newpaper journalist can get through to Tom Stanton; maybe he or she will be able to get the straight scoop on this situation. All that I can say about it is that I do not like the situation at all as it stands right now based on my information.
Key legal question would be - - - if ireland closes on the property, does the ratable go away immediately or only after he builds a church there? Anyone know?
My guess would be that the ratable stays as is, until and if, it is rebuilt for a different use. My thinking is that he could buy it, hold it, and resell it still as Office/Lab property and so the ratable wouldnt change at all. I would think that the "improvements" would have to be underway or at least imminent and a non-profit use application processed before the classification would change, but then again, I am no expert at those things.
All that I can say about it is that I do not like the situation at all as it stands right now based on my information.
