Land Bank selects half a dozen properties to acquire

At the Seneca County Land Bank Committee meeting Tuesday afternoon, the committee approved six properties to be acquired — four in Fostoria and two in Tiffin. Land Bank President Renee Smith also provided an update on Fostoria YouthBuild's housing rehabilitation projects. The properties to be acquired in Fostoria include 640 Maple St., as well as 826 Spruce St., 606 Lynn St. and 727 Spruce St. Keckler said that the owner of 826 Spruce St. passed away, and no one in the family wanted to take control of the property. As for 727 Spruce St., both owners are deceased. In Tiffin, the two properties to be acquired include 250 2nd Ave., a burned-out structure whose owner has been in contact with the city to sign it over to the land bank, as well as 45 Clinton Ave. The land bank is also in the process of reaching out to municipalities, villages and townships across rural Seneca County to see if they have any commercial or residential properties they'd like the land bank to acquire. So far, most nearby areas don't have any eligible properties — to qualify, they'd have to be both vacant and delinquent on taxes. Smith is working on a "pipeline" of potential properties for the land bank to look at acquiring — right now, there are around a dozen on the list. As for YouthBuild, a program under the Great Lakes Community Action Partnership, Smith said that the program didn't receive an extension from the Department of Labor for their two house rehabilitation projects. One of the projects, 919 S. Main St., has been underway for about a year. However, the house at 536 McDougal St., which was originally the second project, will no longer be undergoing rehab by YouthBuild. Because of this, the land bank will eventually have to decide whether to sell or demolish the McDougal house. The program officially ends at the end of May, but staff will be following up with kids for up to a year after the program, as well as allowing some students to finish the Main St. home over the summer. The plan is to have the property ready to sell by the end of August. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the cost of materials like lumber has skyrocketed. Because of that, the budget for the Main St. project has increased significantly. Smith said it's now about $30,000 higher than anticipated. "Some of this is out of their control," Smith said. "Giving another $10,000 would mean we still have less than $60,000 in the project, so we could make it up with a sale." The land bank has $48,000 invested in the property as of now, and the board will decide later whether or not to give YouthBuild $10,000 more to finish the project. Smith and Keckler each agreed at the meeting to walk through the property on Main Street and review YouthBuild's progress before a decision is made. Keckler also said he would walk through the McDougal house to see its condition. In other news, Amy Dunn officially took over as secretary of the land bank. The land bank's next meeting is now June 15 — the original date was June 22, but several board members had conflicts.