Assembly approves sale of 36 foreclosed properties; two parcels postponed to fall sale

The Matanuska-Susitna Borough Assembly on Feb. 19 approved Ordinance 25-013, authorizing the sale of 36 borough-owned properties that were acquired through tax foreclosure for delinquent years 2018 and earlier. The ordinance passed after public testimony from several property owners asking for more time to resolve delinquencies.

Jill Ersic, land management division staff, told the Assembly the ordinance would allow the borough to proceed with the next competitive sale of clerks’ deed properties; a sale date had not been set at the meeting.

Two people who signed up to speak urged the Assembly to remove their properties from the list because of hardship or a recent payment. One speaker identified as Crystal said she had been granted a one-year extension and planned to pay her taxes in full by March 5. Another speaker, Robert Golikovich, said he was out of state caring for his ill father and brought a $5,000 payment to the clerk’s office that day and asked for more time.

During Assembly discussion, staff said the properties on the sale list were those for which the borough received clerks’ deeds in February 2023 and that former owners retain the statutory right to repurchase their property by paying the full balance prior to the sale. Staff reported the two speakers’ properties were PS4626 and TS4617 (numbers as listed on the sale package). The account balance for one property was stated as $2,627.75; the other owner had made a $5,000 payment that afternoon and still owed approximately $19,000.

Assemblymember Hale moved to postpone the sale of the two properties in question until the fall sale (September was discussed as a target month) so the former owners had a full year since the prior public hearing to cure delinquencies; the motion passed without objection. The Assembly then adopted Ordinance 25-013 as amended to remove those two parcels from the immediate sale list.

The clerk confirmed that former record owners may repurchase a foreclosed property up until the sale date, and that interest and penalties continue to accrue on delinquent accounts. Staff said typically the borough holds foreclosure sales annually in the fall but had been directed by the Assembly to hold more than one sale per year.

No additional appropriation or sale date was adopted at the Feb. 19 meeting; staff said they would notify the Assembly when a sale date is set.