CREEK — Town leaders rejected the sole bid for the old town hall in a special meeting Monday night, saying the $66,150 offer was too low.

A recent appraisal valued the building and land at twice that amount.

“I don’t think discussion is even necessary,” council member Chris Gordon said before moving to reject the bid.

Town leaders have begun shuffling their land holdings in preparation for the widening of Interstate 35E, which is poised to cut a wide swath through Hickory Creek’s commercial properties.

The old town hall will be demolished to make room for the highway widening, but the town must find a new place for city services still housed there: animal control and public works.

Voters approved a $5.5 million bond pack­age in May that provided for new streets, drainage projects and a public works building. However, they rejected a bond for a new animal shelter.

That left town leaders scrambling for a way to provide for the shelter.

Town Administrator Mike Deason said it would be at least a year before the Texas Department of Transportation begins its right-of-way purchases, so the council recommended that town staff advertise the sale on the marquee. The old town hall marquee, visible to thousands of drivers each day, usually encourages animal adoption.

Town attorney Lance Vanzant cautioned the council that while advertising, or even listing with a real estate company, is permissible, the council would still have to go through the bid process again to sell the building.

Town leaders received two bids for its property at 1070 Ronald Regan Ave. and voted to sell it, mineral rights included, to the Hickory Creek Economic Develop­ment Corporation for $325,000.

The land was part of the first 5.5 acres the town acquired to extend Ronald Reagan Avenue and to build the new Town Hall.

Several residents attended the special meeting because they were concerned that the land shuffle also meant town leaders would be condemning their property to solve some of its drainage problems.

Carrollton resident Johnny Foster told the council that he waited until his children graduated from high school before beginning to build his home on a 5-acre tract he bought years ago at Turbeville and Ellard roads.

He’s noticed a change in the creek at the back of his property in recent years, he said.

“As the development has come in, the volume and rate of flow as increased in the creek,” Foster said. “The debris has increased, too.”

K.L. Casey said he and his wife had to sue in order to get Rave Motion Pictures to install a storm drain, which directs runoff to the lake instead of their property.

Former council member Randy Wahl said that after he read the agenda posting, he was afraid town leaders would rather condemn his property than negotiate with him to fix it.

In September 2005, Wahl sued Hickory Creek, its contractors and the owners of Cornelius Town Center, claiming his property was being damaged by an undersized drainage pond. The pond, built next to the new Town Hall, was designed to contain storm runoff from Town Hall and neighboring Cornelius, a strip mall built at the same time.

He dropped the city from the suit in 2006, but said Monday night he has since filed to reinstate it, since progress on the drainage repairs has stalled.

After deliberating in closed session over the possible acquisition of property for drainage improvements, the council took no action.

“We want to fix the problem,” council member Richard Baker said. “We have no desire to condemn anyone’s property.”