If you travel northeast on Corridor H from Davis toward the Mount Storm Power Plant, you will see — about 4 miles out of town — on a rise on the right side of the highway, a large white sign with red letters that reads: “Available Acreage.” Under that is a phone number to call.
The Tucker County, Canaan Valley, land belongs to the Fairmont-based Vandalia Heritage Foundation. It was purchased in 2004 with two U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) grants totaling just under $2.42 million. The reasons for the grants, as listed on the applications, were “development needs within the 1st West Virginia congressional district” and “purposes of preservation.”
Several parcels of the original 1,229 acres were already sold. Reader inquiries to The Dominion Post raised two chief concerns: One, that land acquired with taxpayer money is being sold off; and two, that the sale of parcels may block access to the Moon Rocks trail area, a popular recreational and mountain biking destination.
In response to the inquiries, The Dominion Post reviewed property records for the site and submitted a series of questions to Vandalia President and CEO Laura Kurtz Kuhns, who replied in detail in a two-page letter.
Taxes
Tucker records show several tracts were sold. The site comprised 1,125.08 acres in tax year 2006; 1,050.08 acres in 2014; 1,020.08 acres in 2016; and 994.09 acres in 2017.
The most recent sale was 25 acres in November 2017 for $57,500.
The tax bill fluctuated over the years. It was $18,105.68 in 2006; $10,212.20 in 2009; $16,135.48 in 2012; and $21,175.22 in 2017.
The records also show an occasional failure to pay taxes. The tax lien was sold and redeemed in 2009; it was sold to the state in 2010; it was redeemed again in 2011, 2013 and 2014. Taxes have since been paid in 2015, 2016 and 2017.
Kuhns explained in her letter that Vandalia bought the land “to ensure preservation and appropriate development of what we believe is a very special area ecologically and in terms of cultural heritage.”
They’ve worked with environmental and community groups to preserve the area and keep it available for recreation.
“We have planned various uses over a period of years since we purchased the property and have considered what will be the best use of the portions we determine will be developed, while preserving other portions of the land,” she said.
Given Vandalia’s mission of revitalizing historic communities and neighborhoods, she said, they’re concerned about the pressures tourism can place on the site and how to appropriately preserve and develop it.
“We have exhibited a strong commitment to the growing arts-based community development now taking firm root in Tucker County and have been considering how this land might complement the arts/music/tourism activities in play, such as the popular Mountain Music Trail.”
Kuhns pointed out that Vandalia is not prohibited from selling or developing the land and that it met the purpose and intent of the HUD grants.
Regarding the taxes, Kuhns said that while Vandalia is a nonprofit and tax exempt for some properties, this land is taxable though it produces no income and is open for public use.
“Often, we have struggled to come up with these significant taxes, and have had to sell select parcels in order to cover these and other costs associated with the land,” she said. “Real estate taxes have not always been paid on time due to our need to raise funds to cover them.”
Kuhns said Vandalia encouraged the local mountain biking community — which has unfettered access but complained about the most recent sale — to help create a plan that would ensure continued use and possibly provide user fees to help cover expenses.
Vandalia is not required to open the land for bike races and recreation, she said, and prior to Vandalia’s purchase, it was closed to the public.
Real estate sales
The Dominion Post learned and Kuhns verified that the big white and red sign bears the phone number of her husband, Don Kuhns, who retired from his career in commercial real estate.
Don Kuhns, she said, offers his time and experience as a volunteer and made himself the point of contact in order to quickly handle calls. Vandalia employs no agency to handle the sales, and Don Kuhns collects no commission for his work.
“He donates time, energy and experience by assisting with our real estate and in this case, has saved Vandalia what potentially would be thousands of dollars in commissions if we were using a real estate broker.”
Vandalia does use legal counsel experienced in real estate to handle paperwork, as needed, she said.
HUD money
Regarding the use of public funds, Kuhns said the grant was closed out years ago. All real estate transactions are public record and disclosed on Vandalia’s IRS 990 forms.
“With the exception of funding for a specific (multi-year) revitalization project, we have received virtually no federal funding in recent years,” she said. “Over the years, we have met all accountability requirements for any funding we have received, with successful grant close-outs and audits in every case.
“With planning, real estate taxes and other expenses,” Kuhns said, “we have expended literally hundreds of thousands of dollars on this land with no real return from sales other than covering expenses.”
The future
Kuhns said Vandalia invests significantly in Tucker County through redevelopment of various properties and investment in cultural heritage tourism and the arts, which is a main economic driver in the local area.
Right now, Vandalia is working to incorporate one of its historic properties into the trailhead.
“When we first became involved in redevelopment in Thomas early in our history, there were mainly vacant storefronts, but now the town is thriving with new small arts-based, retail and service businesses.”
Since Vandalia purchased the acreage, Kuhns said, they considered and planned multiple uses, including housing, recreation and education.
“We intend to preserve portions of the land while we continue to explore the best and most impactful uses of the balance of the land. We are presently working on a plan that would potentially provide a venue for live (music and other) performances.”
But without adequate funding, they can’t say for sure how the land will be used.
“We do know it will be a combination of continued preservation and appropriate development, as required by the original grant funding. Meanwhile, we continue to pay real estate taxes and to allow the use of the land by groups like the mountain bikers, as we prepare to host yet another spring race.”
