By DAVE SCHULTZ
The city got its Redevelopment Commission involved in an effort to sell four properties and put them back on the tax rolls.
In mid-2021, the city took possession of five properties that had gone through a tax sale. By law, that meant they reverted to Wells County ownership, and the county transferred them to the city’s stewardship.
Four of the five sites did not sell, and the city is limited by Indiana’s regulations on the sale of real estate by governmental units. By law, the city must get two appraisals for a parcel of property it wants to sell and can’t sell it for less than the average of the two appraisals.
With four of the properties — at 328 N. Morgan St., 404 W. Miller St., 517 Indiana St., and 927 W. Market St. — still in the city’s possession, the Bluffton council made a move to make it easier to sell them.
The Bluffton Redevelopment Commission is composed of the same five people who serve on the city’s Common Council — Josh Hunt, Chandler Gerber, Rick Elwell, Scott Mentzer, and Janella Stronczek. Meeting as the RDC at the start of Tuesday night’s council meeting, they agreed to take possession of the properties if they were granted to them by the city. A few minutes later, meeting as the Bluffton Common Council, they of course approved that transfer.
The reason for the change, City Attorney Tony Crowell said, is that the city hasn’t been able to sell the parcels but the RDC could. “We have the ability to convey the property to the Redevelopment Commission,” he said, and the procedures available to it “are a little more lenient.”
In particular, Crowell said, the RDC is not bound by the average cost of the two appraisals. Therefore, the city — through the RDC — will be able to sell the properties at a price someone is willing to pay.
The fifth property the city inherited from the tax sale was at 304 W. Wiley Ave.
All five properties were sites where the city ordered a house repaired or demolished. When the residences were not repaired, the city took them down.
daves@news-banner.com
