GREENFIELD — The City of Greenfield had no takers for a vacant lot at 102 SW 3rd St. they put up for sealed bid.
The council voted Aug. 3 to put the standard 132-by-66 foot vacant corner lot that has been in the city's possession for a few years up for sale by sealed bid. There were certain stipulations the council set to ensure an applicant's access to financing and intent on swiftly building a house of adequate value on the property.
One resident approached the council at a recent meeting asking if they could consider taking a bid early, which would have sped up the process but meant the council would have been going against their advertisement of the property, which was already in print. The council decided against that, instead waiting until their Sept. 4 deadline for receiving bids.
"Between the hurricane down south and the derecho, I know building materials have gone up in cost," said Greenfield City Clerk Becky Haase. "Maybe they looked into it a little more and decided now's really not the time to be trying to build a new house. I've heard varying things about how hard it is to get certain material."
A house was previously on this lot that was in need of much repair, Haase explained recently. The Greenfield Development Corporation purchased the house from that resident and gifted it to the city. The city's portion of the deal was to remove the structure, dig up and fill in the basement and clear the lot.
The city's original aim for the arrangement was that they would sell the lot and the proceeds would return to the development corporation for them to continue rehabilitating more properties in a similar manner. Now that enough time had elapsed since that plan was initiated, the city was simply ready to sell the property to someone so they could build a house.
Haase said the council hopes to look for a better time to pursue potential buyers for the property, possibly next spring.
In city council news, the council:
• approved a third pay application to Godberson-Smith for the street project in the amount of $579,147.07.
• approved and accepted the fiscal year 2020 street finance report. This is a yearly report that is submitted to the Department of Transportation. It shows road use tax funds, and last year, the city received $254,000 in those funds, which can be used for the salaries of people who primarily do street work, sweeping the streets, street lights, repairing and maintaining streets, and removal of trees in the right-of-ways. With the funds come a requirement that as much of them be spent as possible. This year, Greenfield carries $2,600 over to the new fiscal year. The city also spent approximately $145,000 on streets out of its General Fund.
• discussed conducting a general resident survey that can help general planning for the community asking residents what they feel is going well and what they feel needs improvement. City Hall will work on such a survey and it will be released later this month by mail accompanying an update to residents on codes that have recently been revamped by the city council.
