The sale of Broad Street Elementary School may have been approved by the Butler School Board, but Mayor Tom Donaldson said he will do everything in his power to block the Arc, a nonprofit, from moving in it.

On Monday night, the board agreed to sell the closed building to the Arc of Butler County for $400,000.

But Donaldson, who has been critical of selling the building to a nonprofit for months, said the decision to sell to a nonprofit is “irresponsible” and “absurd.”

He wants a business to occupy the building so its taxes can help the city.

“Selling it for nonprofit use is out of the question,” he said Tuesday. “I’ve been complaining for two years plus, there’s approximately 38 to 40 percent of the city properties that are tax exempt for one reason or another. It doesn’t do the city any good.

“Our tax base continues to erode, and at some point, the city will implode. Our income is not going to match our expenses this year. But nobody gets it, I guess.

“When the city implodes, will they get it? I don’t know. I don’t want that to happen.”

Donaldson said he did not see the board make an attempt to find a tax-paying entity to buy the building, but he admitted he is “hesitant to criticize (the board members).”

John Link, executive director of Arc, did not comment on what Donaldson had to say about the Arc moving to the Broad Street school. Link did say that he has plans to meet with the mayor and city council in the future to see what the issues are.

By moving to the school building, the Arc would vacate its two other buildings in the city, one on Washington Street and one on Hollywood Drive, Link said. The hope is that two tax-paying entities can move into those buildings eventually, he said.

Donaldson said he plans to challenge all attempts for the Arc to move into the space.

“The city will be looking into every legal means to block this sale through zoning or rules and regulations that we can apply to stop or block the sale,” he said. “I’m pretty sure council agrees.”

As of Tuesday afternoon, Donaldson said he had already contacted the city’s code enforcement office and asked the staff to look into possible options to block the sale.

“If there’s laws we can use to our advantage to keep it from being sold, in the best interest of our taxpayers, I intend to pursue that,” he said.

The sale of the building must be approved by a Butler County Judge before it is final. At that time, the public will be allowed to present any issues with the sale to the judge.

“I fully intend to address the judge at the court sale. I intend to exercise that option as I’m sure many residents will,” the mayor said.

At that hearing, any other potential bidders could make offers, making Donaldson hopeful that “some for-profit will come along and put their money where their mouth is and bring a for-profit to the city.”

“Really, it’s frustrating,” he said. “We have a school board that’s shooting me in the foot as the city, and they’re shooting themselves in the foot. "