Treasurer’s Office to reimburse Public Works for cleaning foreclosed properties

At the Sept. 17 meeting, the Adams County Commissioners provided a consensus to Adams County Treasurer Laura Danekas to utilize money from the current expense, and the Treasurer’s operation and maintenance funds to reimburse the Public Works department for cleaning three parcels of foreclosed property in the amount of $12,656.98.

Danekas explained $10,536.13 from current expense fund would go toward the expense. The funds are part of $21,500 the county collected from a March 21, 2016, sale of surplus property next to the county services building near the Ritz Theatre.

The Treasurer’s Operations and Maintenance (O&M) fund would contribute $2,120.85 for the remainder of the expense.

At the time, she said the Treasurer’s Office receded the $21,500 into the current expense fund while the county decided if it would create a revenue source that would cover the cost of cleaning foreclosed property.

Since the sale, the county foreclosed on three pieces of property, which Public Works staff had to clean.

Public Works Director Todd O’Brien explained two of the foreclosed properties were sold after Public Works cleaned them.

Danekas said the income from the property sales was dispersed to the county taxing districts with current expense receiving a portion of it.

Danekas explained the Treasurer’s O&M fund does not have enough money budgeted to fully reimburse Public Works for cleaning the three properties. However, the Treasurer’s O&M fund could cover a portion of the cost.

She added the remaining amount from the $21,500 would stay in the current expense fund.

In a maintenance update, O’Brien said crews are crack sealing in Ritzville and moving into Lind. Crews are also performing gravel road maintenance in Lind and Othello to prepare for potato harvest.

In solid waste, O’Brien said the two new trailers will be licensed and transported to the Bruce Transfer Station where crews will install scale parts on both vehicles.

O’Brien provided an update on the process of restoring power to the transfer station’s tipping floor to in order to run the scales and scoreboard. He said once Avista Utilities receives payment from Public Works, the company will install the power pole at the transfer station.

Once the power pole is in place, Farmers Electric will run a panel from the transformer to the pole and wire electricity back to the tipping floor.

In other business, the Commissioners also signed a contract and bond with Granite Construction for the Lind-Hatton and Damon Road overlay project.

Of the three offers submitted for the project, Granite Construction’s $1,299,999.99 was the lowest and below the engineer’s estimate.