Staff writer
The county sold five tax-foreclosed lots and one house to highest bidders Monday.
Two lots in Florence were sold to Ronald Shipman for $125 each.
James Lemons bought one lot in Peabody for $220.
John Morris bought another Peabody lot for $220. Dwight and Patricia Wedel bid $200 on the lot and John Wheeler bid $103.
John Wheeler bought a third Peabody lot for $103.
A house at 210 W. 2nd St., Peabody, was sold to County Clerk Tina Spencer for $350. John Wheeler bid $103 on the house.
Commissioners discussed whether they should exercise their option to reject all bids on the house.
“We would be putting a house in uninhabitable condition back,” Commissioner Randy Dallke said.
Dallke speculated that selling the house might cause the City of Peabody to condemn and demolish it.
“Should we put the load on our small cities?” Dallke said.
“I don’t want to give it to somebody if it’s going to cost them $3,000 to get rid of it,” Commissioner Dan Holub said.
Spencer told commissioners her husband had looked inside the house and decided it could be saved. They intend to clean and fix it.
“If I bid it, my wife would shoot me,” Holub said.
“That’s a win-win,” Dallke quipped.
Before titles will be transferred, taxes owed will have to be paid by the buyers.
Shipman will pay $317.94 property tax. Lemons will pay $2,733.90 property tax. Morris will pay $1,799.02 property tax. Wheeler will pay $432.22 property tax. Spencer will pay $2,340.48 property tax.
In other matters, Gerald Henderson of the Marion County Resource Center asked commissioners to grant money to help pay utilities for the food bank. Commissioners granted $3,000 for 2016, and the food bank already has spent that.
“We don’t make any attempt at being the sole provider of food. We can’t do that,” Henderson said.
Henderson said cash donations to the food bank are used to buy food.
“We don’t use money people donate for utilities; that’s not what it’s for,” he said. “Anything you can do, we’d appreciate it.”
Henderson said the food bank had served residents from every community in the county, with customers taking food to feed more than 300 people monthly.
Commissioners also reviewed a letter from Rosalie Neufeld asking that a bridge on Goldenrod Rd. not be closed.
Commissioners inspected the bridge a month ago, considered it bridge unsafe, but were reluctant to repair it because of the anticipated cost.
“It’s not a major artery at all,” Holub said at the time.