Davison County considers selling land

• Claggett

Claggett

Talk about it

Commission Chairman John Claggett said that unless commissioners have a plan for the land, they should consider selling roughly 3 acres of prime Mitchell real estate located south of the county Public Safety Center to get the property back on the tax rolls.

The discussion was part of the commissioners’ regular Tuesday meeting at the courthouse.

The idea is in step with recent moves by the city of Mitchell to divest itself of non-income producing properties, Claggett said.

The 3-acre parcel, in R.W. Mueller’s First Addition, is bordered on the east by the rear of homes facing Miller Avenue, by Anderson Street to the west and by Williams Street to the south.

The north end of the parcel is bordered by the jail parking lot and is being used for snow storage during high snow years. Maintenance Supervisor Mark Ruml recommended keeping 40 to 80 feet of the north end of the parcel for that purpose.

“What I want to know,” Claggett asked, “is do we hold onto it, sell it all or sell only a portion?”

Director of Equalization Kathy Goetsch said the property is zoned R4 Residential, which means it can be developed with single family homes, duplexes or four-plexes.

A market value would have to be determined, she said, and average land in the area is selling for about $1.46 per square foot. Using that formula, the parcel could be worth $190,793 as raw land.

Miller Avenue homeowner Daryl Kilstrom, whose house backs up to the large parcel, said he would like to expand his garage. He said other homes are already encroaching onto the county land behind their homes, because no alley is available.

“It would be nice to have an alley access,” he said.

Commissioner Randy Reider said the county would have to determine how the installation of an alleyway might affect the land’s saleability.

Another unknown is how the water from melting snow storage might impact any future development to the south.

If the county decides to sell the land, it must first be declared as surplus and a market value must be determined, said Auditor Susan Kiepke.

The commissioners tabled the matter pending the receipt of legal advice on how to proceed.

“If we can’t use it, we should turn it into a tax base and do something decent with it,” Claggett said.

Land lease

In another land matter, the commissioners decided that since they were late in leasing county-owned land in Badger Township, they will lease the land for a longer period this year.

The land, which is in the northeast quarter of Section 33 in Badger Township, is currently being leased until April 30 by Rick Podzimek, who last year paid $10,000 for the year-long lease.

The commissioners approved a 22-month lease for the next lease, which will give the lessee time to make reasonable plans for using the land.

The lease will start on May 1 and run until Feb. 28, 2015.

The time for the lease auction is set for 10 a.m. April 2 during the regularly scheduled commission meeting at the courthouse.

Other business

In other business, the commissioners:

*Approved the purchase of a scanner-copier for the office of 4-H Adviser Alice Nickelson. Nickelson recommended the Toshiba E-Studio 356 copier sold by A&B Business Solutions, which has a $3,100 purchase price, or $1,700 less than a lease option on the same machine. Other bids were from Hard Drive Central, for $4,644, and Brown and Saenger, for $3,100.80.

*Heard Commissioner Denny Kiner say that rapid citizen response prevented road damage from a plugged culvert on 411th Avenue, one-quarter mile from its intersection with 249th Street. County crews were able to open the blockage and restore drainage, thereby preventing flood damage to county roads.

*Noted that equalization meetings to hear tax assessment challenges will run from April 12 to 26.

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