{"id":398,"date":"2015-02-06T18:18:33","date_gmt":"2015-02-06T23:18:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/54.212.39.223\/?p=398"},"modified":"2015-02-15T18:27:34","modified_gmt":"2015-02-15T23:27:34","slug":"leland-controversy-becomes-positive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.barbettespitler.com\/?p=398","title":{"rendered":"Leland Controversy Becomes Positive"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Leland\"<\/a>We recently found ourselves to be at the center of controversy.\u00a0 It was not necessary nor was it instigated by us.\u00a0 Nonetheless, there we were.\u00a0 Right smack-dab in the middle of a news story which by it\u2019s delivery, was meant to stir up the justice-seekers of the community.\u00a0 Although we knew the truth, we also knew there is always the possibility a good situation can turn ugly just because public opinion calls it so.<\/p>\n

We purchased an old historic property.\u00a0 It was built in the early 1920\u2019s and is situated on a beautiful piece of property by a garden park and a river.\u00a0 The property was owned by the Five Rivers MetroParks.\u00a0 My husband has been employed by Five Rivers for nearly 20 years.\u00a0 This property had been their corporate headquarters for 50 years and was on the market for nearly 2 1\/2 years.\u00a0 It was our understanding there were a lot of lookers but no offers.\u00a0 There was simply too\u00a0 much work to be done to either restore it OR to renovate and upgrade it.\u00a0 It is just a little too far out of the downtown area and not far enough to be in the neighboring towns.\u00a0 But, we didn\u2019t care about all that.\u00a0 We have a vision for it and we knew what we could afford, and it wasn\u2019t even half of the asking price.<\/p>\n

The issue was two-fold:\u00a0 the ridiculously low price we paid for it AND that it sold to an employee for that low price.\u00a0 Although everything was clean, clear, legal, and totally transparent and above reproach, it didn\u2019t matter to those who wanted to stir up controversy.\u00a0 So, they did.\u00a0 The claim eluded to favoritism and foul play.\u00a0 The investigation included scouring through all the public documents about the property, the sale, our backgrounds, and my husbands personnel record of nearly 20 years.\u00a0 It was not pleasant.\u00a0 Every day there were updates about the investigation.\u00a0 There was the phone interview and my awareness that anything can be taken out of context and misconstrued for sensationalism.\u00a0 All the while, I know the purchase followed the Ohio Revised Code for government owned real estate sales.\u00a0 And when the MetroPark was concerned they had missed something relatively small, they started the whole process over again by posting the property for sale in the Public Notice Section as well as holding another Open House for the public.\u00a0 I was in a bit of a twit about it all.\u00a0 I knew our offer was low.\u00a0 Anyone in the whole, wide, world could come in with a higher offer and walk away with it.\u00a0 I prayed, as I always do, that IF this is the right purchase for us, that it be made easy and effortless.\u00a0 And we got it.\u00a0 We closed months later than expected and lost a lot of good weather time to work on the exterior.\u00a0 A few days after the closing, we received notification from the City indicating the exterior did not meet standards and needed immediate attention, or else!\u00a0 That was our Welcome to the City!<\/p>\n

When the news investigation began in January, we had barely started working on the building. And we were all too aware of the\u00a0 watchful eyes to our comings and goings.\u00a0 And then the news\u2026.\u00a0 First it was on the local news without our names but clearly indicating this was an inappropriate sale.\u00a0 Then the next day came the newspaper article with personal information being published, which was totally unrelated to the sale.\u00a0 Then came my personal interview and tour of the property, which I offered up.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Because, it was my prayer that the Angels shine the light on the harmony and transparency of this transaction and to allow this to be a positive publicity event for the Leland Center.\u00a0 You see, our vision for the Leland extends far beyond us.\u00a0 It is our hope to provide the community with holistic services, access to workshops and events which are not currently available in the area, AND we have a vision to have a non-profit arm of the business which will provide complimentary therapies to Veterans and our active military especially those suffering with PTSD.\u00a0 The final news piece has become exactly what we prayed for.\u00a0 It was done well, with integrity and exemplifies our vision of the Leland House as well as became positive publicity for the Leland.\u00a0 There will be more written about this journey.\u00a0 We are eager to share!<\/p>\n

Share this:<\/h3>