The Leelanau County Board of Commissioners appears finally to have reached a new deal with John Kasben, the owner of the Maple Valley Nursing Home who has been leasing the nursing home property from the county for many years.

The county board voted 4-1 this week to authorize District No. 6 commissioner and board chairman Robert Hawley to sign a purchase agreement allowing Kasben to buy the 25-bed nursing home building and about 12.5 acres of land from the county for $400,000. The facility is located on County Road 616 (Burdickville Road) across from the county’s Myles Kimmerly Park.

Voting against the deal was District No. 7 commissioner Melinda Lautner, who for years has headed up a Maple Valley Nursing Home subcommittee. Lautner has long been the most vocal proponent of “getting the county out of the nursing home business.” The county’s ownership of the facility dates back to the 1960s when the county ran the nursing home before the advent of Medicare.

Lautner told other commissioners that their decision to sell the facility to Kasben “makes me angry” because she felt Kasben had taken advantage of the county by offering a “rock bottom” price.

A 2006 appraisal of the property estimated its value at $575,000. When the property was put up for sale on the open market, however, no other buyers came forward.

In October 2007, Lautner’s subcommittee recommended that Kasben be offered the property for $450,000 with the condition that he make a 10 percent down payment and accept restrictions on the use of the additional acreage for “senior care” purposes only. But the county board subsequently reduced the asking price to $400,000, and neither of the restrictions were included in the purchase agreement approved this week.

County administrator David W. Gill noted that the new purchase agreement does include a provision for Kasben to pay the difference between the $3,249 he had been paying in monthly rent for the past several years and the $5,000 the county had sought from him since an old lease agreement expired last summer.

Kasben never signed the new lease agreement and continued to pay the lower amount.

Gill also noted that county attorney Doug Donaldson had reviewed the purchase agreement and found it acceptable from a legal standpoint.

Kasben had already signed the agreement, a copy of which was faxed to Gill just prior to the county board’s regular monthly meeting Tuesday evening.

Kasben told the Enterprise on Wednesday morning that he was pleased the county board had accepted his offer and was looking forward to signing closing documents within the 45-day window specified in the purchase agreement.

As part of its “consent agenda” at this week’s meeting, the county board also agreed to reimburse real estate agent Matt Davis some $369 to pay for “For Sale” signs he had placed outside the Maple Valley Nursing Home that were apparently stolen.

In other business at the last County Board meeting slated to be held in Leland before the county seat moves to Suttons Bay Township, the board:

• Conducted a public hearing on an amendment to a Brownfield Redevelopment plan for the county’s 2.4-acre courthouse campus in Leland. The property is slated to be purchased for $2.4 million by Varley-Kelly Properties of Leelanau County and redeveloped for residential housing after existing county buildings are demolished. Mac McClelland of the engineering firm Otwell Mawby, under contract with Varley-Kelly, explained that the public hearing on the amendment was required because of recent changes in state law that allow the inclusion of lead and asbestos abatement efforts in Brownfield Redevelopment projects.

• Adopted a resolution to amend the Brownfield Redevelopment plan for the county campus in Leland in a 4-1 vote with Lautner opposed. District No. 3 commissioner Will Bunek and District No. 1 commissioner Jean Watkoski were absent.

• Authorized the Sheriff’s Office to purchase four Ford Crown Victoria police cruisers from the lowest of four bidders, Signature Ford of Owosso. The four new cars will cost taxpayers $87,000. The purchase was previously budgeted as part of a routine replacement schedule for older, high mileage vehicles that will be auctioned off to the public.

• Approved a contract with Wayne Bancroft Auction Service to conduct a March 15 auction of old office furniture and other items from the counthy’s soon-to-be vacated Leland property. Three auctioneering firms had responded to the county’s request for proposals, and Bancroft offered the best deal, according to county administrator David Gill.

• Agreed to turn over the contents of a 1966 “time capsule” placed behind the cornerstone of the Leland courthouse to the Leelanau Historical Society. A new “time capsule” will be sealed behind the cornerstone of the new Government Center in Suttons Bay Township during a public open house and dedication ceremony slated for May 18.