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Ellen Belcher is the Dayton Daily News opinion pages editor. She writes about state government, education, the environment, higher education and all things Dayton.
Martin Gottlieb is an editorial writer and columnist for the Dayton Daily News opinion pages. He focuses on the political process itself and does such national issues as war, the economy, taxes and Social Security, as well as a hodge-podge of local and state issues.Home > Blogs > A Matter of Opinion > Archives > 2009 > August > 18
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Editorial: Who’s the right buyer for NCR’s Moraine Farm?
If you haven’t been inside Moraine Farm, NCR’s palatial guest house on Stroop Road, you are in good company.
Rarely open to the public — though a Dayton Opera Guild fundraiser was held there in December 2000 where 2,500 guests wore booties or went barefoot so as not to track on the rugs — the estate is on the market for $8 million.
Built by NCR’s longtime and legendary leader, Col. Edward Deeds, the 45,803-square-foot home will never fetch that price — even with its antiques and one-of-a-kind furnishings thrown in.
But that reality is a reason to watch what does happen to one of the Dayton community’s more historically significant properties.
Col. Deeds originally built a farmhouse, but added on, ultimately expanding to a stunning 50 rooms. Besides an indoor shooting range, it has an observatory that NCR says is worth $3 million.
Also the co-founder of DELCO, with Charles F. Kettering, Col. Deeds was instrumental in creating community assets that have stood the test of time — the Miami Conservancy District, Old River Park, Carillon Park and the carillon itself.
Now that it’s leaving Dayton for Georgia, NCR wants to unload Moraine Farm. The home sits on 8.6 acres and is valued at $2.9 million, according to the Montgomery County Auditor’s office.
Kettering Health Network, whose sprawling campus abuts the estate, has taken out a first option on the property. But it’s not prepared to pay anything near $8 million.
Kettering Mayor Don Patterson, who also is a commercial real estate agent, said he knows of another party that’s interested, but, again, not at that price.
The City of Kettering doesn’t want to own the property, and Dayton History, which owns Carillon Park and recently was hired to manage Old River, would love to have the home as another one of its assets. But it doesn’t have money for the purchase price or the endowment that would be needed to maintain it.
NCR has kept up the home fabulously, and has allowed the community to use it as a meeting place for companies that were being wooed and for important events like the Air Force’s Corona (where all of the service’s top generals come together).
Judging by the 16-page brochure NCR’s real estate agent has put together about the property, some people in the company understand the home’s historical significance to the community and to the company itself. The gushing is unrestrained.
The problem, of course, is finding the right buyer with the right use. The agent calls the home an “executive retreat center,” but, as logical as that idea is, the demand for that sort of thing in this economy is not great.
Meanwhile, the big companies that could pay to use the space are gone.
NCR gave Hawthorn Hill, Orville Wright’s home in Oakwood, to the Wright Family Foundation in 2006. The company would have looked horrible if it had put that genuinely historic site on the market.
Though Moraine Farm is positively lovely, it doesn’t have the national consequence of Hawthorn Hill. Maybe asking so much for it is the company’s way of trying to recoup some of the cost of gifting its other guest house.
There’s no reason to think that NCR won’t continue to be a good steward of Moraine Farm as it waits for a buyer. And it can afford to be patient.
When somebody with deep pockets does eventually make a move, all eyes will be on it, eager to see that something so gorgeous stays gorgeous.
Permalink | Comments (7) | Post your comment | Categories: Editorials, Ellen Belcher, Local Business, Local History
Editorial: Tobacco tax better than raiding fund
Ohio has a seriously costly problem with smoking, which makes the state’s decision to liquidate its $230 million tobacco prevention fund a very bad idea.
The fund — in the form of an endowment, not an annual budget — is what’s left for smoking prevention out of the $10 billion the state won from tobacco companies in court.
Judge David W. Fais of Franklin County Common Pleas Court now says the state is not entitled to shift this cash to other things. But Gov. Ted Strickland — desperately trying to hold together a shaky state budget — quickly said the ruling would be appealed.
The budget slates the money for worthy causes. And the budget problems certainly are tough. Nevertheless, giving up on any serious effort at smoking prevention is a bad idea for a state ranked eighth-worst for tobacco addiction. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says nearly a quarter of Ohio residents smoke.
In fact, the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids estimates smoking costs the state more than $4 billion a year in health care expenses. The same study estimates 18,000 new youth smokers take up cigarettes in Ohio every year. If all those kids keep smoking throughout their lives, the diseases and health complications they assuredly will develop will guarantee that spending will keep going up.
The state has won praise from anti-tobacco activists for its ban on smoking in public places. But that does not address the core problem, which is the need to dissuade and prevent young people from picking up the habit.
On this front, Ohio falls short. A recent report on retail sales to youth found that Ohio was worst in the nation for the ease with which minors can get cigarettes, with 17 percent of stores selling to undercover inspectors who were younger than 18.
Coincidentally, one of the best ways to discourage new smokers is to raise the cigarette tax. Studies show a correlation between high cigarette taxes and low smoking rates.
Higher tobacco taxes would have the added benefit of bringing in new state revenue that potentially could fill the budget gap left by Judge Fais’ ruling.
Although Ohio has recently raised taxes on cigarettes, its $1.25-a-pack tax is less than some of its neighbors, such as Pennsylvania ($1.35) and Michigan ($2). It’s also far behind the most aggressive states, including New York ($2.75) and Rhode Island ($3.46).
Just by matching Michigan’s $2 tax, Ohio could raise half a billion dollars in new revenue.
Ohio should also extend the tax to dangerous non-cigarette tobacco products — a big growth area for the tobacco industry.
Some combination of all these strategies — including beefing up penalties and enforcement of laws against underage tobacco — are better strategies than appealing Judge Fais’ decision.
Permalink | Comments (3) | Post your comment | Categories: Health Care, Scott Elliott
