Commissioners in Bradley County voted unanimously to seek cost estimates and refer remediation of 1770 Spring Place Terrace — a property a criminal judge found to be a public nuisance — to the county finance committee.

County staff member Crystal Freyberg told the commission the case came through the circuit criminal court rather than environmental court and was prosecuted by the district attorney under the public-nuisance statute. "The court found the property to be a public nuisance," Freyberg said, adding the judge issued an order that "does allow us to go on to the property and clean it up" and "does allow us to put a lien on the property if Mr. Ratcliffe does not pay the county's cost."

Fre yberg said the parcel is titled in the names of the respondent's deceased parents and that Mr. Ratcliffe is an heir who lived on the property before his incarceration in the Bradley County Jail. She told commissioners there were prior environmental-court proceedings years earlier but said the public-nuisance finding rests on evidence reported to the criminal court, including calls related to overdoses, drug activity and a previously found deceased body.

Commissioners pressed staff on the likely cost and recovery prospects. Freyberg said no estimate is yet available and warned that liens can exceed market value, limiting recovery: "If we put a lien on the property that makes it higher than the value of the property, we will make it hard for it to sell...You won't ever see that." She said county practice is to seek multiple vendor estimates when possible and to return a recommended scope and budget to the finance committee.

On valuation, Freyberg said one parcel was appraised at about $34,800 and the other at $6,500, but she and commissioners noted those figures may overstate marketable value because structures on the lots are dilapidated and uninhabitable. She also said property taxes were up to date, so the parcel is not eligible for immediate sale at delinquent tax sale.

Fre yberg said the county could likely use Bradley County landfill (solid-waste) funds for abatement, though the situation did not meet parameters of an older county resolution (listed in the record as 02/1339) that restricts such fund use to cases with no heirs. She said the district attorney's office had asked the county to address the cleanup and that the court scheduled a follow-up hearing for December 12 at 1:00 p.m.

Commissioner Hughes moved to obtain remediation cost estimates and refer the matter to the finance committee for review; Commissioner Slater seconded. The commission voted 5 to 0 in favor. Freyberg will report the county's plan to the court as required.

The commission’s action was limited to obtaining estimates and a finance referral; no appropriation or contract award was made at the meeting. The court retains authority over any final abatement order.