Posted: 5:46 p.m.Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2016

Commissioner: Land bank needs to prioritize

By Denise G. Callahan

Staff Writer

BUTLER COUNTY — 

TheButler County Land Bank needs to set some parameters and give limited fundsonly to the most needy member communities, one county commissioner says.

County Commission agreed in 2014 to siphon one percentof delinquent tax and assessment collection (DTAC) funds to bolster the landbank and open up its services for the entire county. DTAC funds are latepayment penalties on real estate taxes.

Theland bank, also known as the Butler County Land Reutilization Corporation,provides local communities with funds to demolish eyesores and nuisanceproperties and to promote economic and housing development. Ten Butler Countycommunities are members of the land bank — Hamiltonand Middletownwere founding cities.

Oxford and Madisontownships joined the land bank this week. After welcoming them into the fold,the land bank board agreed to table a request by Ross Twp. for $10,000 todemolish a vacant property at 4330 Hamilton Cleves Road.

Thetownship has already torn down the old Venice Castlerestaurant on the parcel next door and now wants to use a combination of landbank and Community Development Block Grant funds to make a larger parcel tohopefully sell for future development, according to Township Administrator BobBass.

Basscouldn’t be at the land bank meeting, but the members had many questions theyneeded the administrator to answer so they postponed a vote. Bass said laterthe total cost to demolish the vacant house is estimated at $18,000 and hehopes to secure the remaining $8,000 in CDBG money.

ButCommissioner Don Dixon told the Journal-News he had a problem with the requestfor several reasons and believes the land bank needs some kind of a system forprioritizing projects.

“We’reputting money in there from the delinquent tax fund and we need to stretch thatas far as we can,” Dixonsaid. “Some cases where the entities don’t have the money, really, really don’thave the money, then I understand how that works, and we’ll step in and help.But if you are going to take a piece of property down and re-market it for aprofit and you want the land bank to help, then I think the land bank should bereimbursed.”

Thetownship spent $193,893 to buy the land the old restaurant sat on, clear it andfill in the flood plain. Last March Bass said they planned to possibly build atownship government services center there. However, they have since purchasedthe old Tragessar Ford building downtown for that purpose.

Theproperty in question at the land bank has a $131,000 price tag to get it readyfor sale.

Asfor Dixon’sidea to have the township reimburse the land bank?

“That’spossible,” Bass said. “It would be a board decision and I’m not real sure whatway they would look at it.”

Thetownship has already received $5,000 from the land bank to raze a building on Cardinal Avenue.Wayne Twp. is the only other entity outside the two big cities to apply fordemolition money. They were approved for $7,250 to rip out a dwelling at 5966 Wayne Milford Road.

LandBank Executive Director Mike McNamara said he has had discussions with all ofthe jurisdictions about potential demolitions, but he isn’t going to take thelead on any projects because the land bank is only intended to be a tool forlocal governments. He said maybe it is time to put some prioritization guidelinesin place.

“Ithink we’re evolving to a point where it’s appropriate to consider giving agrade or some level of scrutiny to the applications that we’re getting,”McNamara said.

Middletown did not takeownership of the properties they razed under the state grant so none of themhave been re-purposed. Under the HHF program they are required to take over theproperties, but City Manager Doug Adkins said they are too early in the demolitionprocess to have outlined plans for future use. He agreed the new money will beused.

“The first round of Hardest Hit funds were directed at ‘tippingpoint” neighborhoods. Between the first round of Hardest Hit funds and the OhioAttorney General’s Moving Ohio Forward demolition program, Middletown isclose to having most blight removed from those tipping point neighborhoods,” hereplied in an email. “One of the changes we hope to see in the execution of theadditional new funds is the ability to expand the use of those funds into moreneighborhoods, specifically for Middletown,the most distressed neighborhoods, where some blight still remains.”

Analytical

As you will notice the above articledoes not state weather the above funds are to be used on residential or commercialproperties here in Middletown.
However I think it would be wise for City Hall to make plans to dispose of allthe empty lots before we demo more property since the continued upkeep of allthe empty lots is draining money from the city budget.
Also all these empty lots are now being used as dumping grounds for unwantedtrash and additional parking lots in some of these neighborhoods. Come spring theselots will be nothing more than mud holes.
I do not believe that all these empty lots have increased the value of theremaining housing in the area.

Posted: 2:00 p.m.Friday, Jan. 8, 2016

Butler County gets more money to fight blight

By Denise G. Callahan

Staff Writer

BUTLER COUNTY — 

Anew infusion of federal funding could mean more eyesores erased countywidethrough the Butler County land bank.

Thecounty land bank has already spent almost $7 million in federal, state andlocal funding to demolish about 600 unsightlystructures inMiddletown and Hamilton — the county’s two biggest cities. U.S. Sen. SherrodBrown (D-OH) has ensured more federal Hardest Hit Funds — $2 billion worth forthe entire country — will come home to Ohio.

Aspart of the year-end omnibus spending bill, Congress directed the U.S. TreasuryDepartment to transfer $2 billion from the Making Home Affordable program tothe Hardest Hit Fund (HHF), which has been used by land banks like the one in Butler County,to bust blight.

“Thisis a major win for Ohiocommunities and homeowners that are still recovering from the housing crisis,”said Brown, ranking member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing,and Urban Affairs. “It’s critical that we continue to preserve and strengthen afund that has provided over half a billion dollars to address the housingcrisis in Ohioand to redevelop blighted neighborhoods by demolishing vacant properties.”

With$2.7 million it received in Moving Ohio Forward grants from the state, Butler Countyformed a land bank four years ago to deal with blighted buildings. The citiesof Hamilton and Middletown each gave $1.1 million to the landbank fund as well. The two cities are currently working through $2 million inHHF money, removing as many as 120 eyesores.

Butler County commissioners agreed to siphon onepercent of delinquent tax and assessment collection funds (DTAC) to bolster theland bank and open up services for the entirecounty. DTAC funds are late payment penalties on real estate taxes.

IncludingHamilton and Middletown, there are now eight membercommunities in the land bank. Fairfield, Hanover, Liberty, Ross andWayne townships and the city of Trenton have all joined the land bank. Oxford and Madisontownships are expected to have their memorandum of understanding approved atthe land bank meeting Monday.

CarlieBoos, compliance manager with the Neighborhood Initiative at the Ohio HousingFinance Agency, the entity that administers the HHF, said the treasurydepartment is in charge of deciding distribution details. A spokeswoman for theTreasury said since the bill just passed they haven’t worked out theparticulars yet.

Thereare no matching fund requirements for HHF and any allotment the county willreceive can be doled out county-wide, but she said the goal of the programcould mean only Hamilton and Middletown would receive funding, unless thecounty amends the target areas they established for the HHF. Boos said it willbe up to the land bank board to decide.

“Theprimary goal is to prevent foreclosure,” she said. “DTAC is an absolute, greatresource for a lot of counties. especially Butler, to do those more spot clean-ups. Thisparticular program we want to see it very strategically implemented with thatgoal in mind.”

JimRokakis, vice president of Western Reserve Land Conservancy and director of theThriving Communities Institute, who was instrumental in getting Ohio’s land banksestablished and funding flowing, said studies show if you beat back blight itstaves off foreclosures.

Ifpeople are “underwater” on their mortgage already and they see ratty, vacanthouses dotting their neighborhoods, he said they are more likely to ditch theirown domain, than try to save it.

“Thestudy proved where there was demolition activity, where you were taking theblighting influences out of the neighborhood, people were more likely to keeppaying their mortgages and less likely to walk away,” he said.

Rokakissaid initially they identified about 100,000 blighted properties throughout thestate and they have only downed about 22,000 so far, so additional funding wasobviously needed. Kathy Dudley, who handles the land bank for Hamilton,said “oh yes” when asked if Hamiltonhas more blight to tackle.

Shesaid much of the leveled land has or will be turned over to neighbors as sidelots, Habitat for Humanity built a house on two lots, a house in the middle ofthe business district on Main Street will be turned into a parking lot andseveral parcels were retained by the city for future projects like SouthHamilton Crossing.

Middletown did not takeownership of the properties they razed under the state grant so none of themhave been re-purposed. Under the HHF program they are required to take over theproperties, but City Manager Doug Adkins said they are too early in thedemolition process to have outlined plans for future use. He agreed the newmoney will be used.

“Thefirst round of Hardest Hit funds were directed at ‘tipping point”neighborhoods. Between the first round of Hardest Hit funds and the OhioAttorney General’s Moving Ohio Forward demolition program, Middletown is close to having most blightremoved from those tipping point neighborhoods,” he replied in an email. “Oneof the changes we hope to see in the execution of the additional new funds isthe ability to expand the use of those funds into more neighborhoods,specifically for Middletown,the most distressed neighborhoods, where some blight still remains.”