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Board backs tax-forfeit auction resolutions; explores options for Saint Isidore's cemetery parcel
Summary
The Pine County Board approved a package of tax-forfeit land sale resolutions and discussed repurchase or conveyance options for a cemetery parcel and demolition/auction options for a dilapidated school lot.
The Pine County Board received the Land Advisory Committee's recommendations and approved a slate of resolutions to manage tax-forfeit lands, including online auctions, sealed-bid adjacent-owner sales and in-person auctions for problematic properties.
A committee member summarized recommendations to pursue repurchase discussions with a past owner over a privately owned corner of Saint Isidore's cemetery that forfeited for nonpayment of property tax; if repurchase is not possible, the county will explore conveying the parcel to the city or church or, if required by statute, sell it at public auction. The committee noted the parcel contains graves and recommended pursuing conveyance avenues before immediate auction.
On a separate parcel, the Duquette School site, the committee recommended offering the tax-forfeit parcel to the township for $1; if the township declines, the committee proposed spending up to $5,000 from the Blight Fund to demolish the remaining rubble and then listing the parcel for public sale with a minimum of the estimated market value ($1,100), with proceeds returning to the Blight Fund.
Why it matters: The actions aim to return forfeited land to productive use while recognizing special circumstances — cemetery graves on county-forfeit land and hazardous/dilapidated structures that may require demolition funding. The board approved the resolutions and directed staff to follow the committee recommendations for repurchase/conveyance efforts and blight-fund demolition procedures.
