City warns buyers at upcoming auction that condemnation order remains on Ellsworth property

Marshall staff told the council that a property at 1068 Ellsworth with an outstanding condemnation order is scheduled for auction at the end of the month, and staff said they will attend the sale to notify potential buyers that ownership transfer does not remove the obligation to clean up the property.

This matters because the city said the property has been a longstanding neighborhood nuisance and that prior attempts to contact owners had failed; the city is using posting and condemnation procedures and expects sale will transfer ownership but not the cleanup responsibility.

The City Administrator said the property has been "a real problem for the neighborhood and for the city for some time" and that staff have had issues with return mail and owners not answering doors. "That property is going up for auction at the end of the month," the administrator said, adding that staff will "remind the buyers that there is a condemnation order on the property, that the property does need to be cleaned up, that it has been duly posted, and that a transfer of ownership is not gonna alleviate the responsibility of cleaning up that property, from the new owners."

The administrator said the city can use emergency powers to secure buildings in cases where owners are deceased and banks take properties back, but noted those situations complicate proper notice and cooperation from mortgage holders.

Ending: Staff told the council they will continue to post and make initial contacts as a courtesy before escalating to administrative enforcement, and urged residents to continue reporting nuisance properties to city hall or the police department.