Columbiana City Judge Orders Foreclosure on Undeveloped Parcels of Land
Photo by Steakpinball
In Columbiana City there were victory cries in the court after a waiting period of about three years for monetary dues. In 2004 the city heads had taken a loan of $3.5 million to set up new water lines as well as sewer pipes through Route14. The bulk of it would be for the development of Firestone Farms – a sprawling project. But for many years, the project owners faced monetary problems and finally ceased from returning the loan.
Keith Chamberlain the manager said that a decision was taken recently by a judge of Columbiana County to initiate foreclosure on the parcels of land that were not developed; it covered in all over 836 acres. It will help the city in realizing unpaid dues to the tune of $1.5 million pending for expenses pertaining to improvement to water and sewer utility lines at this site.
Nick Barborak the treasurer of Columbiana County said, “The next step would be that we would hold a sale and try to recover the taxes and assessments that are owed”.
However he added that this specific auction by the sheriff would be different from anything previously held; the officials will require getting at the lease sufficient to cover the entire liens place by the local government prior to the acceptance of the sale. He said, “I think you might be looking at marketing this to a specialized, targeted group of investors”.
The initial agreement made with Meadowbrook Development had stipulated annual assessment of nearly $300,000. When this commitment came to a halt from 2008 the city was enabled to balance its books by moving in funds from various other departments.
But, Chamberlain explained, this led to delays in proceeding with improvements as planned in other segments where the funds began to run dry. He is now hopeful that the city will once more kick off those plans once the dues are finally realized.
Chamberlain expressed his wish, “Hopefully another developer or someone will come in and purchase the property and maybe start the development back up and start building homes”. Immediately a number of initial measures would have to be undertaken – one being the appraisal of the property. The date of the sale has not been scheduled as yet but the officials think it will not be before few more months.
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