September 4, 2024 • 10 mins
Allen County Auditor Rachael Gilroy joined Todd Walker on the Wednesday edition of "Lima's Monring News" to update the listeners on the acitivities of the County Land Bank.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Rachel Gilroy, the Allen County Auditor, is here.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
Good morning, Good morning, Todd.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Good to see you, and a lot of things to
talk about.
Speaker 3 (00:07):
But one of the things we like to talk about
with your office is that you are also the purveyor
of the Allen County Land Bank, and the land Bank
goes through I guess cycles of activity based mainly on
when you can get funding.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
So, oh, that's right.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
Yeah, the recently we've had a bit of a period
of inactivity, but things are now kicking back into gear.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
Is that right.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
That's right.
Speaker 4 (00:33):
We've been I'm going to say laid off work for
almost a year, but that's not true because during that
time we do all this immense planning getting ready for
when new grant opportunities become available, and new grant opportunities
became available. So we have about a half million dollars
coming to us from the Ohio Department of Development or
(00:54):
regular demolition activities, and then we have at least a
million dollars hope fully more coming to us through the
EPA brownfield money. So we have plans for all of
that money, and we're just waiting as the approvals trickle
in to get.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
Started and the planning part of it.
Speaker 3 (01:13):
When you're going to demolish them, does the owner have
to request it? Or are these houses or homes that
have been repossessed and then end up in the property
in the ownership of the county or the city.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
How does all that work?
Speaker 4 (01:30):
Oh, there's many ways we can go ahead with the demolition.
But let's use, for example, the property at one oh
four Kirakoff in Alaida.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
That property used to be.
Speaker 4 (01:39):
Owned by the Douglas Pfe organization, and ownership of that
property is pretty much abandoned. Nothing had been happening for
years with that property. So in order to make things
happen with that, we had to acquire that property. So
we just had a successful foreclosure on that in the
last month or so and we're moving steam full steam
(02:01):
ahead with getting a demolition done in the next few
weeks on that property. So that's just one example where
we'll own the property. In the past, we used to
always own them, and that's not a requirement with the
grants coming forward.
Speaker 3 (02:14):
Yeah, So that building in Elida, I think everybody's driven
past that caving in heap of a dump sitting there
right next to three oh nine. So the owner just
up and leaves and technically still in their name.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
You still have to go through.
Speaker 4 (02:30):
A process, right right, And in this case we were
able to acquire it through an expedited foreclosure because everything
that he owed on there, all the back taxes, exceeded
the value of the property itself. It was such a
large encumbrance there. So in those circumstances it makes things
easier for the land Bank to step in.
Speaker 3 (02:50):
So that particular building in Elida will soon be no more?
Speaker 1 (02:55):
Is that what you're saying?
Speaker 4 (02:56):
Yeah, within about two give us three weeks to be safe,
but two weeks is the plan.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
It'll be down and reduced to a gravel lot and up.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
For sale, so then somebody can buy it from the county.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
From the land bank, from the county bank. That's right.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
And when you do those sales through those I guess
they have to be sold at whatever the market bears. Right.
Speaker 3 (03:18):
How does it work? You put out an official auction,
notice what will happen.
Speaker 4 (03:23):
We haven't quite decided how we're going to put it
up for sale yet. The land Bank is able to
sell to property owners or to the new property owners
in a variety of methods. So in the past we've
done some sealed bids in the past. We've taken offers
for the property and we're able to select the best offer,
maybe not necessarily the highest, but the one best for
(03:45):
that area for redevelopment. So we have a lot of
tools that we're able to use because we're a county
land bank that the statutes led us.
Speaker 3 (03:53):
Yeah, so a lot of times when you turn around
and sell that to the public per se, there are
some stipulations about what gets.
Speaker 4 (04:01):
Done with it, right, and we're allowed to require that
that property not be sold then within the next two
or three years or something like that without LANDMAK permission.
That way, we're not putting up with speculation and things
like that.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
Gotcha, And that's I would think that's a pretty prime
piece of property because it's right on Elida Road with
Carrakoff Street once it's in Elia, but that's Elia Road, a.
Speaker 4 (04:26):
Huge welfare and we all know that property, we've all
driven by it, so it's it's fresh in people's minds.
So I think that there will be several at least
that are interested in that property.
Speaker 3 (04:37):
Rachel Gilroy is with us, the Allen County Auditor. Also,
what do they call you the executive director of the
land Bank.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
The Grand Pooba title.
Speaker 4 (04:47):
We go with administrator Administrator. I like grand Puba though.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
The administrator that could be anything. I mean, come on, yeah,
we need a more grandiose title. But yeah.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
Also with the land Bank, it was able to help
out the county with the soon to be demolished Whoefeller
Hiatt Clark building there at North Main.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
Street and West North Street. And I get that right,
the land Bank, I guess.
Speaker 3 (05:15):
I don't want to say this was a surprise, but
it was a late development that you were able to
be part of it, right right.
Speaker 4 (05:21):
It kind of everything just coincided, you know, exactly like
it was supposed to. This opportunity came up to help
the county. The grant made that project eligible for our
demolition under the grant there, So so yes, we are
out for bid for that project now. In fact, we
have our walkthrough on Friday and final bids are due
(05:42):
next Friday. So we're going to be moving full force
ahead with that one too here very quickly. So a
huge project that's going to make a well, you know,
with the new ADMIN building going up, it's just going
to change that landscape in that area.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
It'll be terrific.
Speaker 3 (05:58):
So with the bid going out here soon, the idea
is that the demo could be complete by certainly by
the end of the.
Speaker 1 (06:05):
Year, right we're hoping.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
In our requirements we ask that it be done by
the end of October.
Speaker 3 (06:10):
End of October, okay, well, that'd be awesome, and then
shortly after that the plans and building can begin of
the new County administration building. So with some new rounds
of funding. It does point out that the land Bank,
even though it's administered by your office and it's a
county thing, it also it's not really funded by the
(06:31):
county though mostly brands.
Speaker 4 (06:34):
It's outside grants and there's some funding mechanisms in place
by a statute that we're able to utilize, but it
is separate from the county, so we're quasi governmental. We
have our own audits through the state things like that,
which by the way, we just got our fifth clean audit,
so we're doing things right as we're supposed to be
(06:54):
and the state recognize that.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
So that's terrific.
Speaker 3 (06:57):
So those are a couple of projects on tap for
the land Bank. Any others to just run of the
mill houses in the city or around the area.
Speaker 1 (07:06):
What's on the docket here?
Speaker 2 (07:07):
Yeah, around the area, we have quite a few going on.
Speaker 4 (07:10):
We just finished one on Conette Road out in Amanda Township,
and Auglaize Township has several that they're looking at us
to help with there. There's one or two in Perrie Township.
So with that half million dollars, we're going to stretch
that as far as we can and help as many
as of our townships as we can. We're actually also
approaching our three hundred demolitions, so we hope to have
(07:34):
a little celebration when we hit that three hundred mark.
And it is quite an achievement that we've been able
to do all of that with the help of our
friends in the legislature.
Speaker 3 (07:47):
And really the idea of what happens next is the
most important part of why things get demoed is hopefully
that something new.
Speaker 4 (07:58):
It's place right right, and that's always what we're looking at.
What's going to happen when that property is raised down.
What's going to happen And you know, sometimes it is redevelopment,
sometimes it's just cleaning up nuisance, and sometimes it's for
a project that's going to be ten years down.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
The road, just just long term preparation.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
So I guess part of the process too for you
guys is you're always applying for or looking for grants
that could be applicable to what you're doing that you'd
be eligible.
Speaker 4 (08:29):
For, right right, And with help of other community lead leaders,
you know, working with the commissioners, working with you know,
economic development, working with other folks, we're able to collaborate
and make sure that we have the best possible outcomes
from these properties.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
Also, a lot of the work done and initially and then.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
The earliest two years up to now is because it's
the most populous area. Of course, been in the city too, right,
So right, a lot of that work has been done,
but still more to do, I would presume there are We.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
Are still working with the city.
Speaker 4 (09:01):
In fact, one of the brownfield properties we've submitted for
is their Riverfront one building. There's a lot of remediation
that needs done in that building, so we did go
ahead and submit for that project. Other than that, the
City of Lima is eligible for their own brown field
money and things like that, So we're just trying to
spread the resources and cover as much.
Speaker 2 (09:23):
Area as we can.
Speaker 3 (09:25):
Well, there's always things happening with the Allen County Land
Bank and the Allen County Auditor's Office, and we look
forward to that building in Elaida coming down very soon
and hopefully continue to get grants and what would you
say this round of money, you got half a million
dollars to.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
We do out here.
Speaker 4 (09:44):
We do keep an eye on Swifti's gas station. We're
finally going to be able to tear.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
That one down to Yeah, which one is that down
by Meyer by Spectra?
Speaker 3 (09:53):
Oh yeah, right in there, smoke shop slash gas station.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
Yeah, yeah, So keep an eye on that one. We'll
be having that one done down, hopefully within the next month.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
Or so as well.
Speaker 3 (10:03):
That will certainly be welcome also. But with it being
a gas station, is that a brownfield thing?
Speaker 4 (10:09):
We've applied for the brownfield grant, so we'll see if
they accept it. If they don't, we'll go ahead and
at least tear the building down and wait to see
when more grant money comes to look underneath the ground
and see what's going on there. But at least we
can get the falling down structure cleaned up in the
area looking better.
Speaker 3 (10:28):
Gotcha, Rachel, appreciate you coming in and thanks have a
great day.
Speaker 2 (10:31):
Thanks you too.
Rachel Gilroy, the Allen County Auditor, is here.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
Good morning, Good morning, Todd.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Good to see you, and a lot of things to
talk about.
Speaker 3 (00:07):
But one of the things we like to talk about
with your office is that you are also the purveyor
of the Allen County Land Bank, and the land Bank
goes through I guess cycles of activity based mainly on
when you can get funding.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
So, oh, that's right.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
Yeah, the recently we've had a bit of a period
of inactivity, but things are now kicking back into gear.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
Is that right.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
That's right.
Speaker 4 (00:33):
We've been I'm going to say laid off work for
almost a year, but that's not true because during that
time we do all this immense planning getting ready for
when new grant opportunities become available, and new grant opportunities
became available. So we have about a half million dollars
coming to us from the Ohio Department of Development or
(00:54):
regular demolition activities, and then we have at least a
million dollars hope fully more coming to us through the
EPA brownfield money. So we have plans for all of
that money, and we're just waiting as the approvals trickle
in to get.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
Started and the planning part of it.
Speaker 3 (01:13):
When you're going to demolish them, does the owner have
to request it? Or are these houses or homes that
have been repossessed and then end up in the property
in the ownership of the county or the city.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
How does all that work?
Speaker 4 (01:30):
Oh, there's many ways we can go ahead with the demolition.
But let's use, for example, the property at one oh
four Kirakoff in Alaida.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
That property used to be.
Speaker 4 (01:39):
Owned by the Douglas Pfe organization, and ownership of that
property is pretty much abandoned. Nothing had been happening for
years with that property. So in order to make things
happen with that, we had to acquire that property. So
we just had a successful foreclosure on that in the
last month or so and we're moving steam full steam
(02:01):
ahead with getting a demolition done in the next few
weeks on that property. So that's just one example where
we'll own the property. In the past, we used to
always own them, and that's not a requirement with the
grants coming forward.
Speaker 3 (02:14):
Yeah, So that building in Elida, I think everybody's driven
past that caving in heap of a dump sitting there
right next to three oh nine. So the owner just
up and leaves and technically still in their name.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
You still have to go through.
Speaker 4 (02:30):
A process, right right, And in this case we were
able to acquire it through an expedited foreclosure because everything
that he owed on there, all the back taxes, exceeded
the value of the property itself. It was such a
large encumbrance there. So in those circumstances it makes things
easier for the land Bank to step in.
Speaker 3 (02:50):
So that particular building in Elida will soon be no more?
Speaker 1 (02:55):
Is that what you're saying?
Speaker 4 (02:56):
Yeah, within about two give us three weeks to be safe,
but two weeks is the plan.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
It'll be down and reduced to a gravel lot and up.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
For sale, so then somebody can buy it from the county.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
From the land bank, from the county bank. That's right.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
And when you do those sales through those I guess
they have to be sold at whatever the market bears. Right.
Speaker 3 (03:18):
How does it work? You put out an official auction,
notice what will happen.
Speaker 4 (03:23):
We haven't quite decided how we're going to put it
up for sale yet. The land Bank is able to
sell to property owners or to the new property owners
in a variety of methods. So in the past we've
done some sealed bids in the past. We've taken offers
for the property and we're able to select the best offer,
maybe not necessarily the highest, but the one best for
(03:45):
that area for redevelopment. So we have a lot of
tools that we're able to use because we're a county
land bank that the statutes led us.
Speaker 3 (03:53):
Yeah, so a lot of times when you turn around
and sell that to the public per se, there are
some stipulations about what gets.
Speaker 4 (04:01):
Done with it, right, and we're allowed to require that
that property not be sold then within the next two
or three years or something like that without LANDMAK permission.
That way, we're not putting up with speculation and things
like that.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
Gotcha, And that's I would think that's a pretty prime
piece of property because it's right on Elida Road with
Carrakoff Street once it's in Elia, but that's Elia Road, a.
Speaker 4 (04:26):
Huge welfare and we all know that property, we've all
driven by it, so it's it's fresh in people's minds.
So I think that there will be several at least
that are interested in that property.
Speaker 3 (04:37):
Rachel Gilroy is with us, the Allen County Auditor. Also,
what do they call you the executive director of the
land Bank.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
The Grand Pooba title.
Speaker 4 (04:47):
We go with administrator Administrator. I like grand Puba though.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
The administrator that could be anything. I mean, come on, yeah,
we need a more grandiose title. But yeah.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
Also with the land Bank, it was able to help
out the county with the soon to be demolished Whoefeller
Hiatt Clark building there at North Main.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
Street and West North Street. And I get that right,
the land Bank, I guess.
Speaker 3 (05:15):
I don't want to say this was a surprise, but
it was a late development that you were able to
be part of it, right right.
Speaker 4 (05:21):
It kind of everything just coincided, you know, exactly like
it was supposed to. This opportunity came up to help
the county. The grant made that project eligible for our
demolition under the grant there, So so yes, we are
out for bid for that project now. In fact, we
have our walkthrough on Friday and final bids are due
(05:42):
next Friday. So we're going to be moving full force
ahead with that one too here very quickly. So a
huge project that's going to make a well, you know,
with the new ADMIN building going up, it's just going
to change that landscape in that area.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
It'll be terrific.
Speaker 3 (05:58):
So with the bid going out here soon, the idea
is that the demo could be complete by certainly by
the end of the.
Speaker 1 (06:05):
Year, right we're hoping.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
In our requirements we ask that it be done by
the end of October.
Speaker 3 (06:10):
End of October, okay, well, that'd be awesome, and then
shortly after that the plans and building can begin of
the new County administration building. So with some new rounds
of funding. It does point out that the land Bank,
even though it's administered by your office and it's a
county thing, it also it's not really funded by the
(06:31):
county though mostly brands.
Speaker 4 (06:34):
It's outside grants and there's some funding mechanisms in place
by a statute that we're able to utilize, but it
is separate from the county, so we're quasi governmental. We
have our own audits through the state things like that,
which by the way, we just got our fifth clean audit,
so we're doing things right as we're supposed to be
(06:54):
and the state recognize that.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
So that's terrific.
Speaker 3 (06:57):
So those are a couple of projects on tap for
the land Bank. Any others to just run of the
mill houses in the city or around the area.
Speaker 1 (07:06):
What's on the docket here?
Speaker 2 (07:07):
Yeah, around the area, we have quite a few going on.
Speaker 4 (07:10):
We just finished one on Conette Road out in Amanda Township,
and Auglaize Township has several that they're looking at us
to help with there. There's one or two in Perrie Township.
So with that half million dollars, we're going to stretch
that as far as we can and help as many
as of our townships as we can. We're actually also
approaching our three hundred demolitions, so we hope to have
(07:34):
a little celebration when we hit that three hundred mark.
And it is quite an achievement that we've been able
to do all of that with the help of our
friends in the legislature.
Speaker 3 (07:47):
And really the idea of what happens next is the
most important part of why things get demoed is hopefully
that something new.
Speaker 4 (07:58):
It's place right right, and that's always what we're looking at.
What's going to happen when that property is raised down.
What's going to happen And you know, sometimes it is redevelopment,
sometimes it's just cleaning up nuisance, and sometimes it's for
a project that's going to be ten years down.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
The road, just just long term preparation.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
So I guess part of the process too for you
guys is you're always applying for or looking for grants
that could be applicable to what you're doing that you'd
be eligible.
Speaker 4 (08:29):
For, right right, And with help of other community lead leaders,
you know, working with the commissioners, working with you know,
economic development, working with other folks, we're able to collaborate
and make sure that we have the best possible outcomes
from these properties.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
Also, a lot of the work done and initially and then.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
The earliest two years up to now is because it's
the most populous area. Of course, been in the city too, right,
So right, a lot of that work has been done,
but still more to do, I would presume there are We.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
Are still working with the city.
Speaker 4 (09:01):
In fact, one of the brownfield properties we've submitted for
is their Riverfront one building. There's a lot of remediation
that needs done in that building, so we did go
ahead and submit for that project. Other than that, the
City of Lima is eligible for their own brown field
money and things like that, So we're just trying to
spread the resources and cover as much.
Speaker 2 (09:23):
Area as we can.
Speaker 3 (09:25):
Well, there's always things happening with the Allen County Land
Bank and the Allen County Auditor's Office, and we look
forward to that building in Elaida coming down very soon
and hopefully continue to get grants and what would you
say this round of money, you got half a million
dollars to.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
We do out here.
Speaker 4 (09:44):
We do keep an eye on Swifti's gas station. We're
finally going to be able to tear.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
That one down to Yeah, which one is that down
by Meyer by Spectra?
Speaker 3 (09:53):
Oh yeah, right in there, smoke shop slash gas station.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
Yeah, yeah, So keep an eye on that one. We'll
be having that one done down, hopefully within the next month.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
Or so as well.
Speaker 3 (10:03):
That will certainly be welcome also. But with it being
a gas station, is that a brownfield thing?
Speaker 4 (10:09):
We've applied for the brownfield grant, so we'll see if
they accept it. If they don't, we'll go ahead and
at least tear the building down and wait to see
when more grant money comes to look underneath the ground
and see what's going on there. But at least we
can get the falling down structure cleaned up in the
area looking better.
Speaker 3 (10:28):
Gotcha, Rachel, appreciate you coming in and thanks have a
great day.
Speaker 2 (10:31):
Thanks you too.
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