Also, because of the lack of a super majority vote, the city has pulled out of being a part of the county’s land bank. Last month, Butler County commissioners approved forming the land bank, called County Land Reutlization Corp., a quasi-public nonprofit organization that can acquire vacant, abandoned, tax-foreclosed or other real property for rehabilitation or reuse.
The land bank would clear property of all liens, including delinquent property taxes.
Council voted 5-1, with Councilman Josh Laubach voting against both issues. Vice Mayor Dan Picard was not at Tuesday’s meeting.
The county’s share of the Moving Ohio Forward Grant is up to $2.7 million, but the participating cities — which until Tuesday night was to be Hamilton and Middletown — were to split the match, which would have been a total of $2.2 million. The grant would have allowed Middletown to demolish upwards of 300 vacant and abandoned properties in the city, about 10 percent of its total vacant and abandoned properties.
The city currently demolishes about 40 to 50 homes a year.
“We’re going to get a hold of these properties, which no doubt have issues, and they’re going to require further money to demo them, redevelop them, maintain them,” said Laubach. “The list will go on and on and on, and it will be this black hole that we’ll never get out of.
“I don’t think it’s in the best interest in the city,” he added. “I think the only control we have as a city is to what we can do, and that’s really basic things.”
Laubach said he believes the market will take care of these properties. However, Community Revitalization Director Doug Adkins, who was presenting both pieces of legislation, did not. He said the homes will “just continue to deteriorate, and your neighborhoods will continue to deteriorate.
“We have a balanced book, but we haven’t taken care of our issues,” Adkins said. “The market will not take care of these... There’s not a commercially viable reason for people to get involved in them.”
Law Director and acting City Manager Les Landen said staff supported the grant program and legislation, and understood Laubach’s concerns. However, he said potential residents and business owners who see 3,00 blighted homes will not come to the city.
“We have some very significant problems and if we don’t address those problems, we’re not going to get the economic development,” Landen said.
Mayor Larry Mulligan said this would have accelerated the city’s current demolition program and aided in economic development. He said removing 10 percent of the city’s blighted property can make a big difference.
“This is a singular opportunity to really see some additional money to leverage what we’ve got,” the mayor said. “My concern is if we don’t take care of this opportunity this year, it will be a lost opportunity and forever be missing out clearing blight from 300 potential sites.”
The deadline to apply for the grant, which is being applied through the land bank, is June 30. Adkins said money the county does not apply for would likely be redistributed to the state’s other counties.
Adkins said with the city not pursing the grant money, that allows the city of Hamilton — which he said has expressed interest in the grant — could potentially apply for the entire grant amount.
Councilman A.J. Smith was leaning against the grant and the land bank, but ended up supporting it. After the council meeting, he said he felt he needed to put the city “above my own self interests.”
He said he wished the dollar amount was lower, but said it would have helped the city.
Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2175 or michael.pitman@coxinc.com. Follow at
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