Van Bibber residents concerned about derelict properties
GREENCASTLE -- Derelict properties at Van Bibber Lake are not just a concern for the county, but for the people who live near those properties.
On Monday, Van Bibber Lake resident Bill Dixon came before the Putnam County Commissioners at their regular meeting to ask who was responsible for getting those properties cleaned up.
"It's dangerous for children," Dixon said. "I don't know who's responsible, but the properties have just set there year after year after year."
The commissioners explained to Dixon that he was likely talking about properties that had gone up for tax sale last November and not sold, and that at this point the commissioners are in the process of organizing a Commissioner's Sale to get the properties back on the county's tax rolls.
The commissioners have been in talks for some time with Indianapolis-based SRI, a company that would oversee a live or Internet sale of the more than 350 properties in the county that are delinquent in taxes.
"We have to take title and then have a Commissioner's Sale," Commissioner Gene Beck said.
Dixon wondered how long it would take to have the sale. Beck said no dates had been set yet.
"There's a process we have to go through by state law," Auditor Stephanie Campbell said.
Beck assured Dixon the sale was a priority for the commissioners.
"We want to get rid of (the delinquent properties) too," he said.
In other business, the commissioners approved two funding requests from Putnam County Economic Development Commission Executive Director Bill Dory.
The first was for $2,500, which would be Putnam County's share of funding for inclusion in a regional marketing group that will also include Clay, Parke, Vermillion, Sullivan and Vigo counties.
Getting the group together officially wouldn't be a huge change.
"We've been working together on an informal basis for years," Dory said.
Dory explained that the state has been encouraging the establishment of regional marketing groups.
"It's probably going to be an ongoing thing in coming years," he said.
Dory also requested $32,000, money already budgeted for the Economic Development Commission's operating expenses.