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Commissioners approve removal of abandoned mobile home; direct highway department to clear site and seek special assessment
Summary
County staff reported an unpaid mobile-home tax and recommended removal; commissioners authorized the highway department to clear the site and directed staff to pursue a possible special assessment of costs against the lot owner.
Walsh County commissioners on Jan. 7 approved county removal of an abandoned mobile home that remained on a privately owned lot after the owner failed to pay the property's mobile-home taxes.
County staff said the county's tax sale process identified a single mobile home with an unpaid tax bill. Staff and the highway department inspected the property and described a damaged, partly collapsed trailer with fallen trees and no active utilities. The tax office provided photographs and an email from the state's attorney's office recommending a certified letter be sent to the owner before any removal because the land remains privately owned.
County staff described past precedent: the county has removed abandoned mobile homes in previous years, sometimes using highway equipment or by hiring contractors for scrap removal. Commissioners discussed options including sending certified notice to the owner, attempting to special assess cleanup costs to the lot owner, or paying removal costs from county resources. Highway staff advised the structure likely must be removed in pieces and that salvage options for steel may be limited, which raises disposal costs.
A commissioner moved that the highway department clear the mobile home and, if possible, that the county special assess the costs to the lot owner (identified in the transcript as Mohawk); another commissioner seconded. At roll call the commissioners voted unanimously in favor of the motion. County staff said they will coordinate with the highway department and the state's attorney's office on required notices and on pursuing a special assessment if allowed.
Commissioners also discussed the possibility of creating a recurring county budget line for blight cleanup to capture cleanup costs for abandoned structures in future budgets, and several commissioners urged pursuing a special assessment or other mechanism so taxpayers do not carry the cost when private owners do not pay.
