Foreclosed properties will be sold
County will use proceeds to benefit parks and recreation
Twelve properties seized by Josephine County for failure to pay property taxes will be sold, and the proceeds used for county parks and recreation.
County commission Chairman Jim Raffenburg and Vice Chairman Dave Toler voted 2-0 in favor of an order designating the real property for parks improvements.
Commissioner Dwight Ellis was absent from the sparsely attended evening meeting Wednesday, Aug. 15 at Anne G. Basker Auditorium in Grants Pass. He was taking a “well-deserved rest,” said Raffenburg.
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The presentation about the properties was made by Phil Killian, the county’s property manager. He called the order “a monumental moment,” as it concludes, he said, six years of cataloguing work, and two presentations during April and June this year.
In response to a query from the audience, Raffenburg explained that the intent of the order is to get the properties back on the tax rolls. The proceeds will be used, he said, “for much-needed repairs” at county parks and recreation sites.
Killian said that the public can learn about the properties on the Josephine County Website at www.josephine.or.us in connection with a link to a sheriff’s office auction planned for early this fall. Their specific and general locations as provided:
432 Crestview Loop (.55 acres), 3014 Foothill Blvd. (1.01 acres), S.W. “G” Street (7 acres), Green Tree Loop (2.75 acres), 4020 Jacksonville Hwy. (1.28 acres), Jacksonville Hwy. (.47 acres), 1340 Kincaid Road (4.08 acres), Murphy Creek Road (6 acres), 769 Portland Ave. (3.41 acres), Redwood Hwy. (19.4 acres), 505 Soldier Creek Road (.91 acres), and 7902 Takilma Road (5.12 acres.)
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County Forestry Standards Questioned
In another matter, the board received a statement from Merlin resident Holger T. Sommer regarding an altercation at his home on Wednesday, Aug. 15. In connection with the incident, a man was charged with assault and trespassing.
Sommer, who has referred a number of land matters to the state Land Use Board of Appeals, said, “The root cause (of the altercation) was the disagreement of a forestry expert with the state, federal and local guidelines.
“BLM, ODF and U.S. Forest Service,” his statement continues, “declare land ‘commercial forest land,’ when that land produces 20 cubic feet of wood fiber per acre per year or more.
“The type of conflict that occurred Aug. 10 can easily be avoided if Josephine County, in addition to its IRR (Internal Rate of Return) system, also established a minimum cubic feet/acres/year productivity standard.
“I propose,” Sommer concluded, “that the county consult with its own forester and establish such a productivity standard.”
Raffenburg and Toler accepted the statement without comment except to thank Sommer for giving it to them. The could consider it at a later date.
In other items, the two commissioners:
*Appointed Marie Hill, the county’s chief operating officer, to the Local Public Safety Coordinating Council.
*Appointed Kris Gleisner and Patricia Long, and reappointed Whitney Lard to four-year terms on the Josephine County Library Board of Trustees. The terms will expire Aug. 5, 2011, Raffenburg said.
