Grace Kirchner, Leader Correspondent
The city of Clintonville has agreed to pay two years of delinquent taxes and the 2016 taxes on two properties so it can raze a condemned building on 11th Street.
The Common Council voted Sept. 13 to accept Waupaca County’s offer to pay $5,316 in back taxes on the properties, as well as the 2016 taxes, which are not known at this time.
City Attorney Keith Steckbauer said a previous council reached an agreement with the property owners to have the city take over the properties, have them condemned and ask the county to waive the property taxes. However, county officials told Steckbauer they never discussed the proposal with the city.
Jim and Gloria Krause, owners of one of the parcels, are current with their taxes. Joseph Larson, the other owner, is not. The Larson property has been vacant. The portion owned by the Krauses was occupied by a laundromat and hair salon.
Steckbauer also told the council that after the county clears the back property taxes, a 9-year-old judgment for $1,700 by ThedaCare will remain on the Larson property. He expects Larson to allow him to work with the creditor to negotiate a solution.
According to building inspector Dan Coffey, the roof structure has failed and fallen in at the back of the Larson section. There is no usable electrical wiring, plumbing or heating in that portion of the building. The walls are rotten and falling down. Power has been shut off for the entire building. Coffey said that according to state statutes, the damage to the building is so severe that repairs are unreasonable.
“I think we learned something with this particular project that would bode well for the city in the future,” City Administrator Chuck Kell said. “When we have structures that are deteriorating and that we issue condemnation orders on, we need to get quickly with our assessor at that point and have them look at the value of that building. For this building, the value was not brought down to reflect the fact it wasn’t habitable anymore, and that’s why the taxes are still high on the county level that we have to pay off now.”