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Committee agrees to refund bidder deposit on contaminated parcel, to seek DEC guidance
Summary
After a successful tax foreclosure auction, supervisors agreed to refund a bidder's deposit and to obtain DEC guidance before disposing of a parcel with significant contamination concerns. A formal resolution to authorize the refund will be presented next month.
The Wayne County Treasurer's Office reported a successful tax foreclosure auction and said a successful bidder is considering withdrawing from one parcel purchase. Treasurer staff and supervisors identified significant contamination concerns with the parcel and concluded it should not have been offered for sale.
Supervisors Kim Leonard and Gary Rose argued the property should have been removed from the auction prior to bidding. "The parcel should not have been offered for sale in the first place," both said, and the committee agreed that the bidder's deposit will be refunded in full. Ms. Fralick said a resolution authorizing the refund will be presented next month and additional information will be sought from the DEC before deciding on the property's future disposition.
Because the auction terms ordinarily call for forfeiture of deposit when a bidder backs out, supervisors described this as an exception warranted by the property's contamination and lack of usability. The committee also discussed existing restrictions on who may bid in county tax auctions and opted not to expand the list of prohibited bidders at this time.
