Retirement village buys Genoa land

4/8/2005

GENOA - A retirement village now has an opportunity to expand after it acquired Genoa schools' Bergman Field at an auction yesterday.

Genoa Retirement Village bid $105,000 in an auction involving five bids for the five acres adjacent to its property off State Rt. 163 between Cherry Street and North Reiman Road, Genoa Superintendent Dennis Mock said.

The goal of the Genoa Area Local Board of Education was to get at least $80,000 for the former football field because that is how much Genoa Village Council was originally going to pay for the property in September, Mr. Mock said.

But council rescinded its offer in January after learning the board would not dedicate a 60-foot right-of-way near Brunner Elementary School to the village for future village development.

The school board's argument was that there was never a formal agreement that the board would allow the village to have the right-of-way if council bought the field.