By JESSICA BRICKER
The Wells County commissioners are preemptively responding to a “threat” of litigation regarding the sale of the county farm.
In a statement issued Friday through County Attorney Colin Andrews, the commissioners said they wanted to “inform the public on a potential development” relating to the auction held in December 2021.
Commissioners Michael Vanover, Jeff Stringer and Blake Gerber requested the statement be published as an opinion piece and appears as such on Page 4 of today’s edition in its full text.
In it, the statement details the recent history of the county-owned farmland, which was sold to help fund the construction of a new highway garage.
Gaiser Farms and the county had a lease agreement for the company to farm the land until it was sold. When discussions began regarding the land and a new highway garage, the county reportedly gave written notice to Gaiser Farms “of its intent to terminate the lease,” the statement issued Friday said. A subsequent addendum extended the term of the lease since the project discussions were ongoing “but still expressly recognized the intent to eventually sell the county farm.”
The sale of the farm was approved in May 2021 and the county reportedly gave Gaiser Farms written notice in October of its intent to end the lease effective Dec. 31, 2021.
“Two months after receiving the county’s letter terminating the lease, the attorneys for Gaiser Farms tendered a letter demanding $100,000 from the county claiming ‘potential lost profits’ since written notice of the lease termination was sent on Oct. 6, 2021, instead of Oct. 1. Gaiser Farms has made this demand notwithstanding the fact it was fully aware of the plan to auction the farm and terminate the lease throughout 2021, and despite the fact the auction went forward in the same manner as had been discussed with Gaiser Farms over the course of the previous months,” the statement said.
“Moreover, Gaiser Farm’s demand completely ignores the fact the county was entitled to terminate and cancel Gaiser Farm’s rights under the lease without any required notice in the event Gaiser Farms failed to make its lease payments when due. In 2021, Gaiser Farms failed to timely pay both of its required cash payments,” the statement added.
Caleb Gaiser said Friday that the county has violated the lease, the terms of which are spelled out in the document. It has been turned over to legal counsel, he said.
Furthermore, he said the county never contacted him about terminating the lease leading up to the property’s sale and he wasn’t notified when it was a topic of discussion at commissioners’ meetings.
The commissioners, who meet in a regular session Monday morning, said they hope that the matter will be resolved quickly. The matter does not appear to be on Monday’s agenda.
“The Wells County commissioners are committed to protecting the county and its citizens from aggressive demands for money and/or needless lawsuits and are prepared to respond if an action is filed,” the statement said. “The county will stand up for what is right and not take monetary demands or threats of litigation lightly. The county commissioners will continue to inform the public as the matter progresses. In addition, the county commissioners will continue to hope that the farmers and taxpaying citizens of Wells County will not be burdened by this threat and that the matter will be withdrawn quickly.”
jessica@news-banner.com
