Wednesday, December 9th, 2009

Officials have CHIP house on market

By Janie Southard
Photo by Janie Southard/The Daily Standard

Auglaize County commissioners are selling this house at 306 S. Beech St. in St. Marys. It was part of the CHIP program.

ST. MARYS - Auglaize County commissioners have a house for sale at 306 S. Beech St., and any profit will go toward helping another homeowner through the Community Housing Improvement Program (CHIP).
"We've owned this house for a few years. By that I mean we hold the first mortgage ... It's a CHIP house the county spent $25,000 on, and the lady who lived here died a year or so ago," County Administrator Joe Lenhart said. "We have a lot of these (CHIP) houses throughout the county and in most cases we're the second mortgage, so we don't usually get anything if the owners move, sell or pass away."
This time is different. The house came before commissioners recently when the county treasurer's office sent a notice that the commissioners would be sued for non-payment of $6,000 in taxes.
Relatives of the lady who owned the property have been living in the house but failed to pay the taxes. So the commissioners decided to put the house on the market hoping to at least recoup their $25,000 investment plus the $6,000 they paid in taxes.
"It's not that we'll be making money. We'll put everything back in the CHIP fund for another home project in the future," said Lenhart, who will conduct an open house on Friday from 1:30 to 3 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon.
"We've sent out a lot of letters to folks we know buy these type properties, but of course, anyone interested is welcome," he said.
CHIP is a federal grant program that pays for emergency repairs to residential homes and/or to bring homes up to current building codes. The county has participated in the program since the early 1990s and has helped hundreds of homeowners over that period, Lenhart said.
Additional online story on this date
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Subscriber and paid stories on this date
Mercer County commissioners to make final ruling on request
Applause broke out Tuesday night at the Jefferson Township building after members of the Mercer County Zoning Commission decided not to recommend a zoning change for property owner Roy Asbury Jr.
ROCKFORD - Parkway school district voters will see a levy renewal on the May ballot that, if passed, will keep the current income tax revenue in place for another five years.
WAPAKONETA - Auglaize County health officials are disappointed with the recent low numbers of people seeking H1N1 flu vaccine.
During Tuesday's mee
NEW BREMEN - Construction of a 60-by-175-foot electric department service building moved one step closer to becoming reality Tuesday night when village councilors accepted bids.
WAPAKONETA - The staff at the Auglaize County Health Department will receive a 1.5 percent raise beginning in 2010.
The board of health met Tuesday morning and approved the salary increases, as well as other personnel issues, following an hour and a half executive session.
An 18-year-old Celina man faces numerous charges alleging he engaged in sexual conduct with an 8-year-old girl between January and March of this year
The trial date for a long-time St. Marys teacher charged with public indecency and voyeurism has been rescheduled from this week to Feb. 18.
Also,
A Shelby County father and son were arrested early today after they ran from authorities investigating an apparent burglary at the Fraternal Order of Eagles Hall in Coldwater.
COLDWATER - Everything old does look new again at the South Side restaurant. A Coldwater landmark since the early 1950s, the restaurant has a nostalgic theme wrapped in fresh paint and clean and shining furnishings.
A Celina restaurant owner is finalizing plans to open a three-setting restaurant in St. Marys.
John Irmscher, co-owner of CJ Highmarks in Celina, is working to close a deal for space in the strip shopping center called Shoppes at St. Marys on the southwest corner of state Route 66 and U.S. 33.
Local Roundup
Compiled by Gary R. Rasberry
Parkway fell behind early and could not recover as Crestview improved to 2-1 on the season with a 45-30 nonconference win on Tuesday night in Convoy.