Zoning committee authorizes foreclosure proceedings for delinquent parcels and approves revised listing prices

The Ashland County Zoning Committee voted to move forward with tax-foreclosure proceedings for a list of delinquent parcels and approved revised listing prices for county-owned properties during its April meeting.

Staff asked the committee to proceed with foreclosure on parcels highlighted in the packet, reading a list of owners including Robert Altman; Daryl; Daniel Wages; Thomas Grama; Ronald and Nancy Turner; Dale and Rosalie Baker; KK's Rentals; Joshua and Megan Rogers; Laverne and George Becker Revocable Trust; Lands for Recreation Limited; Alexander Warshaw; Ashley Bebejko; Matthew Remick; Matthew and Maria Remick; Kenneth White; and Jeff Bellaney. A committee member moved to publish the highlighted parcels for sale; the motion was seconded and carried by voice vote.

After the vote, staff said they would draft the tax deed documents, record them so the county holds title, and send parcel lists to the county’s real estate contact (Tony) so he could prepare recommended listing prices. The staff member said: "I will probably, right after this meeting, send an email to Tony with a list of all these parcels so he can prepare prices." The committee was told two parcels on the original list (Anthony Mitchell and John Cossup) had paid and were removed from foreclosure proceedings.

The committee then considered a separate motion to adopt amended listing prices for county-owned parcels still held by the county. Pat moved to approve the revised prices; a committee member seconded the motion, and it passed by voice vote after brief discussion about pricing landlocked parcels and a realtor’s recommendation to reduce one listing after a prior offer fell through. One staff explanation to the committee noted that where parcels are landlocked they often sell for substantially less and that local market interest had waned on at least one property since an earlier full-price offer fell through.

Next steps: staff will finalize tax-deed paperwork, Tony will prepare recommended listing prices, and the committee expects to return with price recommendations at a future zoning meeting for final approval.