WORTHINGTON - Less than two months after conducting a public auction to sell 16 tax-forfeited parcels in Nobles County, commissioners are now discussing plans for a second sale to deal with five new properties added to the roll of forfeitures.
During a Monday morning work session, Nobles County Auditor-Treasurer Beth Van Hove presented a list to commissioners of the newly added tax-forfeited properties. The additions were made official on July 7, and include one parcel in the Ocheda Heights subdivision in Bigelow Township; a residence at 509 Maine Ave., Adrian; a residence at 304 N. Bishop Ave., Rushmore; a residence at 123 Thompson Ave., Rushmore; and a residence at 1615 Okabena St., Worthington.
The property in Adrian had already been boarded up by the city, but Van Hove said she has not yet seen the other properties on the list. Already, there are concerns about the Rushmore property at 123 Thompson Ave. Van Hove said Thrifty Four Inc. sold the home on contract, and while the property was paid for, the deed was never filed. Because the home’s buyer, Greg Hanks, never paid taxes, he could not file the deed. He continues to live in the home even though it’s now considered owned by the state.
“There were assessments applied this year from the city of Rushmore for more than $2,000 due to unpaid utilities,” Van Hove said. “It is my understanding there are (currently) no utilities into the home.”
“He’s living there now, and it’s not his property anymore,” Commissioner Don Linssen said. “We’re going to have to evict him.”
Van Hove said while the individual has the ability to repurchase the property, she had already offered him options - including a confession of judgment that would give him 10 years to repay the taxes at a rate of 5 percent interest - and he didn’t act on them.
“He’s had options for three years,” added Nobles County Administrator Tom Johnson.
“We have drafted a letter to inform him he has 30 days (from the day he receives the letter) to vacate the property,” Van Hove said.
Also discussed Monday were three of the five tax-forfeited parcels that did not sell during the public auction in early June, including two houses in Ellsworth and the former pool hall in Adrian.
Van Hove said anyone interested in purchasing the parcels in Ellsworth would need to pay the assessments. However, if the county decides to remove the assessments to entice a buyer, it will need to sell the properties at public auction again.
“Until we have another public sale, those two houses have to sit,” Van Hove said, adding that she preferred not to schedule an auction next year because of the added workload of it being an election year.
There was some discussion about demolishing structures on unsold tax-forfeited parcels. Johnson said while there is a cost for the demolition, there is also more liability if the buildings stay standing.
“We spent $2,000 (to board up properties) on what is a Band-Aid on a battlefield wound,” said Linssen. “I think when we go into the budget process, we need to set aside money, whether from wind energy or something, for the tax forfeiture process. It’s going to be an ongoing process.”
As for the former pool hall in Adrian, Johnson said the building’s condition is more dire than first thought. More of the back roof of the building is missing than remains, he said.
It will cost the county approximately $4,000 to do an environmental assessment of the building, and Johnson said he has yet to receive a quote for the structural analysis. Without the structural analysis, Johnson said it would cost significantly more to landfill the materials.
“It’s going to be a challenge to tear down in the first place,” Johnson said of the former pool hall.
In other matters, the board:
- Discussed legislative priorities for 2016, including encouraging legislators to dedicate the state’s surplus funds on infrastructure. Other ideas mentioned include broadband, K-12 funding, Statewide Health Improvement Program funding, educational efforts on the buffer initiative and housing and economic development.
- Learned of interest from an individual in leasing space in the Armory Business Center. Johnson said someone wants to establish a faith-based counseling service and is looking for an office space.
- Was notified that the uninterruptible power supply at the Prairie Justice Center failed during a recent storm, and it took a day to get some of the computers running again because the server went down. The cost to repair the system, which was damaged by the outage, could be about as much as a new system. Johnson was directed to see about renting a system as backup. He also suggested generators could be used if or when there is an expected thunderstorm.
- Discussed the county’s display during the fair, Aug. 12-16. Plans are to have a tabletop demonstration on maneuvering through a roundabout, as well as videos on roundabouts.
