May 26, 2014 [Springfield News-Sun]
The Clark County Land Re-utilization Corporation has been designated as the agency to reclaim, rehab and reuse vacant and abandoned properties in the county.
Clark County commissioners recently voted on the resolution in a move that will bring the county a step closer to establishing a land bank.
Officials began the process of establishing a land bank in April after Commissioners John Detrick and David Hartley voted in favor of allowing the county treasurer to file documents to incorporate the Clark County Land Re-utilization Corp., a land bank that would allow the entire county to speed up the process of returning blighted and abandoned properties to productive uses.
County Administrator Nathan Kennedy said the decision to designate the re-utilization corporation as the agency to reclaim and rehab foreclosed and abandoned properties is another step in establishing a land bank
Kennedy has said the county would be eligible for $500,000 to $1 million in grant money if it established a land bank, which is non-profit organization that can take foreclosed properties and rehabilitate them to make them reusable or demolish structures.
The land bank is a separate entity from the county, and the county would not own the property.
However, two county commissioners — Detrick and Hartley — and Treasurer Stephen Metzger are required to be on the board, Kennedy said.
Local officials have been mulling the possibility of establishing a land bank since Cuyahoga County established one in 2009, Clark County Community Development Director Tom Hale has said.
“We felt it was a good resource for the community to try and help both the city and the county,” Hale has said.