Lynn City Council expected to expedite land sale process

By Thor Jourgensen -- The Daily Item
Friday, October 3, 2003

The City Council's plan to revamp the way public property is sold and placed back on the tax rolls is on the fast track, with full council approval set for as early as next week.

A vote at next Tuesday's council meeting on reforming public property sales would come a week after the council public property committee approved the seven-point plan.

The plan calls for handing lots of 2,000 square feet or smaller over to Housing Authority and Neighborhood Development for reuse as open space; allowing all city departments to review property before it is auctioned off; selecting an auctioneer to dispose of property; and having an attorney ensure all property set for auction is advertised in conformance with city ordinances.

The plan also prescribes a 30-day auction and allows the fee paid to the auctioneer to be added onto the bid amount for a property. All money generated by the auction must be rolled back into the city's coffers.

"The Lynn Area Chamber of Commerce is glad to see the council, especially Jim Cowdell and Rick Ford, going in this direction," Chamber Director Kevin Donahue said, "We've been working with the council for several years on this. It's a great example of the chamber working for the betterment of the community."

At the urging of the Chamber, the council has tried to come up with a plan to dispose of property taken from former owners for nonpayment of taxes.

The council voted in June to auction off 55 properties and then reduced that list to 36 lots and buildings in September. The list includes the city's first secondary school, located at 55 High St, and valued at $133,000.

The city is accepting written offers to buy 50 High St. and 35 other properties up until Oct. 21. The bids will opened that evening by the City Council public property committee.

The winning bidders will be chosen based on the amount of their bid and how their proposed use of the properties impacts the surrounding neighborhood.

The High Street building is not the highest-appraised property on the auction list. A commercial building at the corner of Union and Silsbee streets is valued at $232,000 and a vacant house at 49 Vine St. is valued at $134,000.

The list also includes a home on Elmore Street and a condominium on Portland Street. The remaining properties are vacant lots ranging in size from a few hundred feet to three lots on Den Quarry Road totaling more than 150,000 square feet.

The bidders must be present at the Oct. 21 public property committee meeting to answer councilor's questions. Successful bidders that do not complete their purchases within 45 days will lose their bid deposits and the property will be awarded to the next highest bidder.

The Building Department faced criticism Tuesday for not disposing of public property on an ongoing basis. Building Commissioner Francis Calnan Thursday said his office has followed state bidding laws in preparing properties for sale. The law requires the department to pinpoint the size of a lot and determine if it has potential for development or can only be used as open space.

Calnan said two retirements and an extended sick leave left his staff struggling to keep up with permit reviews and inspections.

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