Wood County tries to get rid of land

2/10/2006

BOWLING GREEN - With a delinquent tax bill hounding them for more than 30 years, the Wood County commissioners have decided to come clean.

Their $85,000 bill for back taxes has been mounting since 1974 when a previous board of commissioners decided to stop paying taxes on land once used for the Interurban electric railroad line.

The county inherited the property when the owner of the rail line abandoned it.

Nearly two years ago, County Treasurer Jill Engle brought the matter to the commissioners' attention, saying she wanted to clear up the overdue taxes and get the property back on the tax rolls. Commissioners balked at paying the bill and decided to offer the land to townships, villages, and other public agencies that might be able to use it.

The remaining parcels were to be sold to the highest bidder - with the minimum bid starting at the amount of back taxes. But with only a couple takers, commissioners have decided to pay the bill and get rid of the land once and for all.

"We decided it was our responsibility to clean up the tax portion so they could be turned over to other local governments that wanted them or to citizens who wanted to purchase them," Commissioner Tim Brown said. "It really wouldn't be fair for citizens to pay the back taxes. It just made sense for us to clean it up and wash our hands of it."

Yesterday, commissioners transferred two parcels totaling 3 acres to the village of Milton Center and two parcels in Weston Township totaling 0.76 acres to the Wood County Park District..

County Administrator Andrew Kalmar said two residents have bought parcels along the railroad line by paying the back taxes, but there are still about 30 assorted parcels remaining.

The railroad line ran through the western half of the county from Haskins to Custar, but few of the remaining parcels are contiguous because adjacent landowners had acquired parcels over the years.

Mr. Kalmar said commissioners plan to sell the remaining parcels to the highest bidder through a sealed-bid auction. No date has been set.