KMS deal collapses; property going back on market

The future of the former Kingsbury Middle School is still a mystery. Photo/LTN

By Kathryn Reed

STATELINE – The vote and tone of Tuesday’s Douglas County School District board meeting proved the electeds are tired of dealing with Patrick Taylor.

Taylor is the Cave Rock resident who a year ago entered into an agreement to buy the shuttered Kingsbury Middle School property. He has been given multiple extensions throughout the process.

On Aug. 8 the board unanimously said no more extensions would be granted. The board will seek a new appraisal on the 22-plus acre site that has 36,000-square-feet of space. It will then be put back on the market.

The original asking price was $4 million when the board in January 2012 put it on the market. In September 2015 the price was lowered to $3.125 million by averaging the two appraisals.

It’s anyone’s guess what the new appraisal will come in at.

Whoever buys it will have to contend with zoning issues and potentially irate neighbors. The public has been slow to show up at meetings to voice their concerns. While the room was packed Tuesday afternoon, only three people spoke.

Despite the decision, Taylor could submit another offer.

The board’s issue with him was the delays. They didn’t see what good it would do to keep extending an offer without getting anything in return. Taylor was adamant in telling the board, “There is no way in the world I would extend it to just Sept. 17 and I won’t put up more money.”

His $55,000 deposit is now the district’s to do with what it wants. (The district is paying about $5,000 a month for the upkeep of the site, which includes utilities.)

Asked after the meeting if he had a Plan B, Taylor told Lake Tahoe News, “Nah, I’m done with them.”

Whether that was said in anger or if he’ll change his mind remains to be seen.

The school was closed in 2008 because of declining enrollment.

It was pointed out by a member of the public that Taylor’s plan to build affordable housing could have created a scenario where the remaining two DCSD schools at the lake would be overcrowded if his plans came to fruition and families filled those residences.