The Atlantic City Council will hold a special session 6:15-p.m. Wednesday at City Hall, to make a decision with regard to ownership of the Atlantic Senior Center. City Administrator John Lund says the Council has three options to consider before making their decision.

Option 1 – Eliminate the 13.5-cent per $1,000 property valuation tax levy from the budget, and Solicit Sealed bids for the building “As-is”. (Under this option, the Council cannot later change its mind and sell the building without leaving the roof to deteriorate, until July 2020).

Option 2 – Maintain the tax levy; Solicit sealed bids for the building with a repaired roof; Repair the roof in July 2019; collect taxes to repair the roof throughout the FY 2020 cycle; and sell the building in July 2020. Lund notes the Council cannot deactivate the levy or sell earlier than July 2020 under Option 2, but they can choose to reject all bids and keep the building without consequence.

Option 3 – Maintain a Tax Levy; Choose to keep the building; repair the roof in July 2019; and Collect taxes to repair the roof through the FY 2020 cycle. The Council may choose to sell the building anytime after July 2020, but may not sell it sooner, under this option.

Not an option: Eliminate the tax levy from the budget AND decide not to sell the building OR solicit bids…but reject all bids and reconsider the sale. Expect roof to be repaired by the City prior to July 2020 if the levy is not activated (Which is a decision that must be done Feb. 20, 2019).

Lund says “If the Council remains uncomfortable committing to the sale of the property, no action needs to be taken, but the budget will retain the property tax levy and the earliest date the City could sell the property if it reconsiders the decision, would be July 2020. Lund will recommend the Council act on Option 1, which will restore the Employee Benefits Levy to its current rate. If a motion to that effect fails, he will interpret it to mean the City wishes to maintain ownership and wishes to see the roof repaired. If the Council wishes to sell the building but fix the roof first, that will bind them to that decision, as the levy will remain intact and the sale delayed until repairs are completed.