POULSBO — No toasts or celebrations. Little, if any fanfare. Just the standard procedure for the purchase of any piece of property, even though Friday’s was targeted for a municipal campus.

When Mayor Kathryn Quade put her signature on the documents spending $2.09 million for property owned by Olympic Property Group, only City Attorney Jim Haney, City Clerk Karol Jones and City Engineer Andrzej Kasiniak and a Transnation America Title Co. employee witnessed the historic event.

“I’m following the council’s guidance to complete the purchase and sale agreement that was signed in November,” Quade said. “It’s the largest purchase I’ve ever made.”

The purchase secures the 10th Avenue property for the city, but doesn’t necessarily mean that it will be the site of a new city hall, she said.

Voters will be asked to chose between a 10th Avenue site and a downtown location in the November election on an advisory ballot.

Many Council members including Councilmen Ed Stern and Jim Henry and Councilwoman Connie Lord have stated in the past that they will abide by the voters’ decision.

The November signing was done two days before Thanksgiving and former Public Works Director Jeff Lincoln credited former Mayor Donna Jean Bruce with “having the vision to make this a reality.”

OPG President Jon Rose joined Councilmen Stern, Henry and Mike Regis along with Finance Director Nanci Lien in celebrating the occasion.

However, Rose signed the closing agreement Thursday and did not witness the city’s completion of the purchase.

Despite not attending the city’s signing of the agreement, Rose did address the full council in a letter dated May 3.

“Recently, a vote has been taken to undertake another study evaluating future city hall locations,” Rose wrote. “You will notice that we have not partaken, nor have we requested to partake in any of this renewed debate.”

OPG has not felt it was right to speak publicly on the issue since it has an ownership interest in the 10th Avenue property, he wrote.

“We understand the need for public participation that sometimes accompanies the democratic process,” he continued. “We also wish to thank you for never calling into question your obligation and commitment regarding the closing on June 10.”

What the city finally decides to do with the property doesn’t concern OPG as long as the uses “maintain the quality and sense of place that you mandated in our original development approval that we and others have built” he wrote.

The city managed to address the remaining issues listed by Rose in the letter before Friday’s closing and the issues were primarily related to easements on the property.

However, Rose expressed his concern about the appeal filed by Suquamish Tribe.

“OPG is still the property owner, is partially funding the short plat and will ultimately retain two the four lots,” Rose wrote. “It would be a courtesy to us to be involved in these discussions.”

Rose concluded his letter by expressing his appreciation for all the time the council has spent on the issue and encouraged the city to continue working toward the completion of the process.

Tribal leaders hand delivered their appeal of the city’s Mitigated Determination of Nonsignificance for the municipal campus project April 20 and took aim at the use of buffering averaging in the wetlands on the site.

“Contrary to City’s Consultant’s Wetland Delineation and Mitigation Plan dated February 20, 2006, Tribe’s biologists do not believe that the criteria adopted by the City in 2005 for utilizing buffering averaging is satisfied in this instance,” Tribal Attorney Mark Bubenik wrote. “The proposed project as situated, will have a probable adverse impact on the environment.”

After the appeal was filed by the tribe, city Planning Director Barry Berezowsky began working on a settlement of the appeal before it went to the Hearing Examiner.

Friday Berezowsky said a tentative settlement has been reached with the Tribe and it appears the appeal will be settled without going before the Hearing Examiner.