Jewett wants rid of abandoned homes
Harrison News-Herald Reporter
JEWETT — During its regular meeting July 17, village wanted to give a special thanks to those who helped redo the basketball courts.
Council member Bobbie Prevot said she had been in contact with a person who was going to paint the lines on the new concrete and had been told it would be done in a few weeks when the concrete was fully set.
Several people were involved with the project and council made sure to thank everyone for their help. Dennis Lee took out the old concrete and prepped the space. Damien Kovarik donated the gravel for the base. BrightSide Tavern donated the concrete and is working with the person painting the lines.
“That court looks very good,” Mayor George Baillie said.
Village Administrator Mike McBee was unable to attend the meeting so Baillie shared a short report before council moved on to discuss ordinances.
Village ordinances have been an ongoing project for council members and it appears to be nearing completion. Several council members have been reading through old ordinances, organizing them, and discussing what ordinances are needed for the good of the village.
One specific ordinance that spurred the project months ago was about what buildings were allowed on properties within village limits. There was a lot of uncertainty about which mobile homes would be allowed, what the rules were on building size, and whether trailers or campers were allowed to be permanent residences.
Many ordinances are old and unnecessary while others are in need of clarification or being rewritten. Because there are so many, Village Solicitor Cory Phillips said there may be a way to repeal all the old ordinances at once, then work through either amending several or passing entirely new ones.
Council has been compiling a list of abandoned houses in town where the property owners are also behind on taxes. Prevot was able to pull paperwork from the county auditor on individual addresses, some of which are more than $20,000 behind on taxes.
Prevot expressed discontent with the county prosecutor, saying she had contacted the office but hadn’t gotten any new information or any next steps. Baillie said he was under the impression that the necessary information had already been sent to the prosecutor for further action.
“The Jewett Council would like to know when the county is going to start doing something with these properties with $20,000 and $30,000 in back taxes on them,” Council member Rick Meneely said. “We can’t do it, they have to do it.”
The process to have a home forfeited to the county can take a lot of time. County Prosecturo Lauren Knight shared that one thing the county looks for is interest from individuals or an organization to purchase the property since it costs money to do everything from the forfeiture to an eventual auction. If no one is interested in the property, it’s more likely to sit and continue accruing back taxes until it is submitted to the prosecutor’s office.
