Abandoned property draws neighbor's ire
Lead Summary
By
Brandy Chandler-brandychandler@gmail.com
Officials in Highland County are investigating the potential health hazards of a seemingly abandoned house on McCoppin Mill Road.
Highland County Commissioner Shane Wilkin said he has observed the
property, located in the 6000 block of McCoppin Mill Road, saying that an in-ground swimming pool could pose a danger to children.
“I’ve been to the property,” Wilkin said. “In this case, the house is not falling down. My biggest concern is an old pool that is there. No one lives there, it is not maintained, there is a crust on top of the water. I would view it as a danger, and we are trying to see what we can do to get it taken care of or fenced-in.”
Wilkin said he has been in contact with Paint Township trustee Randy Mustard, who has been working with the Highland County Prosecutor’s Office and the Highland County Health Department.
Mustard told The Highland County Press he’s been working on this problem for the past five or six years, with very little cooperation or progress.
Ross McAllister, who was the last known owner of the property, died several years ago, and it has not yet been determined who is responsible for the house and the swimming pool.
Highland County Prosecutor Jim Grandey said his office is pursuing some actions against the property, but nothing has been completed yet.
“We’ve been trying to do some things for a long time,” Grandey said. “Unfortunately, sometimes the criminal stuff we have to deal with has timetables. When he died, there was no estate anywhere that we could find, which means that if we foreclose on it or file an action, we have to due it all by publication, which is expensive.
“We’re trying to find out who is going to pay that now. It is a concern. We finally found someone who was at least visiting the property. We sent a few
notices and thought they were going to do something, but they haven’t.”
As Highland County officials have not been able to contact anyone who could be considered a property owner, The Highland County Press was
unable to reach potential owners for comment. Grandey said his office would like to continue to pursue the issue, but sometimes other matters take precedence. “Unfortunately, sometimes the criminal stuff we have to deal with has timetables. To try to file a complaint on this, I’m not sure when that’s going to be done. I’d like to say it will be tomorrow, but I don’t know. We are working on it.”
In addition to the potential health risks officials say the
property poses, Highland County Auditor Bill Fawley said that the taxes have not been current on the property since 2005, and total nearly $6,000.
The last time a payment was made on the tax bill was in December 2008, when $100 was paid, which, “did not cover the delinquency,” according to Fawley. Fawley said that in the state of Ohio, a period of three years must pass before the state can take action and proceed to a sheriff sale on delinquent taxes. If the property is a vacant lot, a period of five years must pass. Since the first notice of delinquent taxes on the McCoppin Mill property was advertised in 2007, action can be taken at some point this year if the $5,939 owed in taxes is not paid.
Grandey said that his office had begun the process to file a
complaint on the property regarding taxes, “but then we found out (the property owner) had died.”
When a court compels someone to clean up a property, Grandey said, the process can be lengthy, and even if the court orders cleanup of a property, failure to do so would not result in jail time.
“There will have to be a civil action and then we would have to have a hearing,” he said. “And if someone does show up or take responsibility, we would have to get a judgment saying that it needs to be cleaned up.”[[In-content Ad]]
Highland County Commissioner Shane Wilkin said he has observed the
property, located in the 6000 block of McCoppin Mill Road, saying that an in-ground swimming pool could pose a danger to children.
“I’ve been to the property,” Wilkin said. “In this case, the house is not falling down. My biggest concern is an old pool that is there. No one lives there, it is not maintained, there is a crust on top of the water. I would view it as a danger, and we are trying to see what we can do to get it taken care of or fenced-in.”
Wilkin said he has been in contact with Paint Township trustee Randy Mustard, who has been working with the Highland County Prosecutor’s Office and the Highland County Health Department.
Mustard told The Highland County Press he’s been working on this problem for the past five or six years, with very little cooperation or progress.
Ross McAllister, who was the last known owner of the property, died several years ago, and it has not yet been determined who is responsible for the house and the swimming pool.
Highland County Prosecutor Jim Grandey said his office is pursuing some actions against the property, but nothing has been completed yet.
“We’ve been trying to do some things for a long time,” Grandey said. “Unfortunately, sometimes the criminal stuff we have to deal with has timetables. When he died, there was no estate anywhere that we could find, which means that if we foreclose on it or file an action, we have to due it all by publication, which is expensive.
“We’re trying to find out who is going to pay that now. It is a concern. We finally found someone who was at least visiting the property. We sent a few
notices and thought they were going to do something, but they haven’t.”
As Highland County officials have not been able to contact anyone who could be considered a property owner, The Highland County Press was
unable to reach potential owners for comment. Grandey said his office would like to continue to pursue the issue, but sometimes other matters take precedence. “Unfortunately, sometimes the criminal stuff we have to deal with has timetables. To try to file a complaint on this, I’m not sure when that’s going to be done. I’d like to say it will be tomorrow, but I don’t know. We are working on it.”
In addition to the potential health risks officials say the
property poses, Highland County Auditor Bill Fawley said that the taxes have not been current on the property since 2005, and total nearly $6,000.
The last time a payment was made on the tax bill was in December 2008, when $100 was paid, which, “did not cover the delinquency,” according to Fawley. Fawley said that in the state of Ohio, a period of three years must pass before the state can take action and proceed to a sheriff sale on delinquent taxes. If the property is a vacant lot, a period of five years must pass. Since the first notice of delinquent taxes on the McCoppin Mill property was advertised in 2007, action can be taken at some point this year if the $5,939 owed in taxes is not paid.
Grandey said that his office had begun the process to file a
complaint on the property regarding taxes, “but then we found out (the property owner) had died.”
When a court compels someone to clean up a property, Grandey said, the process can be lengthy, and even if the court orders cleanup of a property, failure to do so would not result in jail time.
“There will have to be a civil action and then we would have to have a hearing,” he said. “And if someone does show up or take responsibility, we would have to get a judgment saying that it needs to be cleaned up.”[[In-content Ad]]