|
Board clears up issues over property cleanup CASS COUNTY BOARD Cass County Correspondent BACKUS - It took two motions and lengthy debate, some of it heated, before Cass County Board voted Tuesday to assess the original $36,623.06 bid amount against a property the county had cleared of debris and health hazards at Pine River.
Ivan Avenbach, who rents a house on the property from his sister, Ida Mae Moore of Phoenix, told the board his parents bought the property in 1943. He questioned why his family's property was targeted for clean up when there also appears to be excess outside storage on other properties in the county, including at some of his neighbors' properties.
"They ripped off everything except a few old mobile homes, one of which I live in," Avenbach said, specifically questioning the removal of lumber and firewood. All the buildings should have been left, he said.
Health, Human and Veterans Services Director Dorothy Opheim said that department responds to five to 10 reports annually concerning possible public health hazards.
"This is the most extreme case I've seen," she told the board.
At issue Tuesday was whether the board should assess the full $44,439.06 in bills the county paid for environmental inspection, demolition and debris removal or only the original $36,623.06 bid amount or none of the costs against the property.
Commissioner Jim Demgen emphasized he was not in favor of having the rest of the county's taxpayers pay for cleaning the property. His motion to assess the full amount died when Commissioner Jim Dowson cast the only supporting vote.
"Where are we going to start? Where are we going to stop with this?" Commissioner Bob Kangas, who represents the Pine River area, asked animatedly. "I hope we learn from this and don't do it again," he said of the cleanup effort. I think this is communism."
Administrator Robert Yochum predicted this process will be used rarely.
He informed the board more than half of the $70,000 to $80,000 Environmental Services Department solid waste special assessment fee added to property tax bills annually has been used to pay for this cleanup this year.
Yochum told the board the question is whether Moore and Avenbach should be expected to repay countywide solid waste fund some or all of the money expended on the property.
Kangas then made a motion to assess the original $36,623.07 bid amount against the property owners' tax bill and to let the solid waste fee pay the $7,816 additional costs involved to finish clearing the property of hazardous materials and other debris.
That motion passed unanimously.
To Subscribe to the Brainerd Dispatch, Click Here.
Note: Comments are not edited and don't represent the views of The Brainerd Dispatch. Please read our posting rules in the terms of service policy. To report a post that may be inappropriate, click the triangle alert icon.
|
|
Top Commented Articles
