Saint Bernard CIC advances demolition RFPs, pauses mowing bids while exploring land bank holding agreements; votes to meet in executive session on property sale

The Saint Bernard Community Improvement Corporation voted unanimously Jan. 20 to enter an executive session to discuss the sale of property after hearing updates on demolition contracting and options to transfer properties to the county land bank.

Chair Jonathan Stugel opened the meeting and called for updates on ongoing property-management work. The board heard that a relocation specialist is working to find a new home for the remaining shopping-center tenant. Board member Joe Brickler said the demolition request for proposals has been issued and advertised in the Enquirer, that multiple contractors requested a walk-through scheduled for next Monday, and that bids are set to be opened on Feb. 11. "The RFP for demolition bids went out. It was advertised in the Enquirer...the bids are scheduled to be opened, the February 11, I believe, is the date," Brickler said.

Taylor Voigt briefed the board on the county land bank's process and said the land bank will accept properties when a community development corporation or CIC initiated the acquisition. Voigt said the land bank uses a standard donation and holding agreement and that, under that arrangement, the land bank's economies of scale could reduce maintenance costs and property-tax exposure for the CIC. "The property tax savings alone, I think, is worth pursuing a holding agreement," Voigt said. She added that properties could be returned from the holding agreement if the CIC needed to remove specific parcels from it, and that any tax savings would begin with the next tax bill.

Following the land-bank discussion, the board agreed to strike the CIC mowing bids for 2025 temporarily and delay reissuing them for about one month while it pursues the holding-agreement option. The chair said the decision will be revisited if the land-bank approach proves unworkable.

Before going into executive session to discuss the sale of property, Chair Stugel asked for any additional agenda items and announced the next regular meeting is scheduled for Feb. 25. The motion to enter executive session was made by Amy Isaili and seconded by Joe Brickler. The secretary conducted a roll-call vote; the transcript records eight recorded "yes" responses and three absences, and the chair announced "All yeses, no nays." The board moved into executive session and planned to adjourn immediately after the closed session.

The open session ended after that vote; no formal sale terms were discussed in the public portion of the meeting and no board actions beyond the executive-session vote were recorded in the transcript.