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County awards demolition bids, authorizes commissioner sale; public commenters urge Portage Woods protection and flag aquifer concerns
Summary
Commissioners awarded demolition bids for five condemned properties, approved a resolution to list 307 properties for a commissioner sale, and heard public comments urging preservation of Portage Woods and raising concerns about aquifer withdrawals and an Amazon project’s diesel generators.
The St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners on Dec. 2 approved several property-management actions and heard public comments urging conservation and raising environmental concerns.
The building department asked the board to award demolition bids for five condemned properties to Beaver Excavating; the properties and amounts listed in the meeting record included 52604 Mark Street ($29,700), 20245 Brick Road ($18,700), 5483 Woodsell Drive ($12,700), 52626 Mark Street ($28,700) and 23809 Lynn Street ($21,700). Building department staff said only one bidder responded for those properties. The board approved the award by voice vote.
The auditor’s office (Marella Carmona) presented a resolution and property list for a commissioner sale, explaining that the commissioner sale offers properties that did not sell at the regular tax sale at reduced minimums to get them back on the tax rolls. Carmona said 307 properties were proposed for the commissioner sale and that many are vacant lots; the meeting record listed a minimum bid of $25 for many lots. Commissioners approved the resolution so the auditor can conduct the sale.
During public comment, Deborah Dural urged the board to preserve Portage Woods rather than allow development, citing canopy loss, drought sensitivity and a ravine with spring water. Dural referenced the county’s SCORP study and said the county is ‘‘about 2,000 acres shy of green spaces’’ for residents and wildlife.
Dan Caruso raised water-resource concerns, saying two dewatering projects recently approved by the drainage board will withdraw 27,000,000 gallons per day from the aquifer—he said that would exceed the county’s cap of 24,000,000 gallons per day—although Caruso noted the withdrawals are temporary for construction. Caruso also described an Amazon project public meeting and said a permit listed up to 234 emergency diesel generators with on-site storage he said could total 1,600,000 gallons of diesel; he urged examination of alternatives such as natural gas or solar.
Votes at a glance: the demolition awards to Beaver Excavating and the auditor’s resolution to proceed with a commissioner sale were approved by unanimous voice vote; public comments were recorded for the meeting minutes.
