LIMA — After months of setting the foundation, the Allen County Land Reutilization Corp. is ready to begin its work of addressing the issue of blighted houses in the county.
After hiring Wapakoneta-based Downing Community Advisors to administer the land bank’s operations, county treasurer Rachael Gilroy presented the county commissioners with the finalized plan for the corporation, which was approved Thursday.
“As of this date, we’re ready to roll,” Gilroy said. “We’ve made a lot of progress in the last few weeks. We’re ready to move forward and start moving some properties in and begin the demolition process (in the next few months).”
The land bank is currently in the running for grant funds to demolish rundown structures on tax-delinquent properties, with Gilroy hoping for as much as $1.5 million.
“We’re wanting to begin demolition even without those grant funds,” she said. “That way, it will prove to the state that we can do this since we’d be in the process of doing it already. Those grant funds would be a welcome addition in the end.”
Funds to demolish properties before the grant is given would come from penalty and interest payments from tax-delinquent property owners. Gilroy is anxious to begin the process after seeing the great need for this type of project, both in Lima and the surrounding county.
“It’s pretty depressing when you go through some of these neighborhoods street by street looking at houses and taking notes,” she said. “We sure hope to clean up these neighborhoods where people are living. It’s a shame that they have to live next to this blight, with the stray animals that go in and out and the racoons you see wandering around when other property owners are taking care of their properties and have pride in them. So we hope to restore that pride to their communities.”
Anyone wishing to report a blighted property can contact the Allen County Treasurer’s Office at 419-223-8515. Properties must be tax-delinquent to be considered for the land bank program.
