By DAVE SCHULTZ
The Bluffton Board of Works sold off two of the four parcels of land the acquired after they were left unclaimed in a tax sale.
The property at 329 N. Morgan St. was sold for $7,800 and the property at 517 S. Indiana St. was sold for $10,000 to Kyle Mueller of KDM Rentals. The two properties had been appraised at $7,000 and $10,000, respectively.
There were other bids for the Morgan Street and Indiana Street properties, as Indiana MH offered $1,550 and $1,049 for them. The Mueller bids were higher, however.
Indiana MH also offered bids on the other two properties for sale — 404 W. Miller St. for $1,125 and 827 W. Market St. for $1,125. Because the bids were so much under the appraised price — $8,000 each — the board rejected the bids and will advertise the properties for sale again.
The four properties were the subject of a legal advertisement in the Friday, April 1, edition of the News-Banner. Bidders had 10 days to submit a sealed bid. Mayor John Whicker opened the bids Tuesday afternoon.
The city came into possession of the properties in August of last year, The houses on all four properties had been subjected to repair-or-demolish orders from the city’s Building Department and none of them were redeemed by their owners when the land was subjected to a tax sale. The city then had the parcels appraised and put them up for sale.
The Board of Works members — Whicker, Scott Mentzer, and Roger Thornton — also viewed a Zoom presentation on improving its utility payment process. The presentation was by Frey Municipal Software, which currently supplies payment records to the city. The board took no action on making any changes but did not seem to be opposed to the idea.
daves@news-banner.com
