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October 31, 2008

Relatives out of pre-tax sale

By LOHR McKINSTRY

ELIZABETHTOWN -- Essex County's effort to dispose of properties before an upcoming tax sale failed Thursday morning when too few lawmakers showed up for a special meeting.

The Essex County Board of Supervisors had been called into session to vote on requests from several towns for sales to family members of those who'd lost their properties.

A quorum of the Board of Supervisors is 10 out of 18 members. Nine came to the special session at the Old County Courthouse in Elizabethtown.

Supervisors stood around talking in small groups for about 15 minutes, waiting for one more member, then the meeting was finally called to order by Board of Supervisors Chair Cathy Moses (R-Schroon).

"We do not have a quorum," Moses told them. "Unfortunately we can't hold a meeting. No business can be conducted. Thank you for coming."

The meeting had been scheduled to consider requests of municipalities and relatives of former owners for properties obtained by the county for the tax sale. There are more than 200 parcels in the sale that starts at 10 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 13, at the Ticonderoga Best Western Inn and Suites.

The municipal requests can still be addressed, County Attorney Daniel Manning III said, but it's too late for the people who wanted to pay the taxes their relatives didn't pay.

The county has a rule that tax-sale properties can be reclaimed no later than 14 days before the sale. The deadline was Thursday.

In the case of the municipalities, state law allows counties to sell tax properties to local governments at any time for no financial consideration as long as it's for a municipal use.

The Village of Port Henry wanted two properties: a house on Shea Lane for a visitor information center and offices, and a small structure on Locke Lane to be demolished as a hazard. The Town of Lewis wanted a parcel near the Lewis Fire Department to be added to the town holdings there.

After the meeting, Manning said the board could still vote on the governmental requests.

"The others are pretty much out of luck."

He said he was opposed to sales to relatives anyway for legal reasons. In some cases, conflicts between relatives over who should get a property resulted in their requests to the county for pre-tax sale deals.

Supervisor Robert C. Dedrick (R-Ticonderoga) had said before the meeting he would not attend because he had told relatives in his town that it was too late prior to the special session being slated. Other supervisors absent were Gerald Morrow (D-Chesterfield), Ronald Jackson (R-Essex), Randy Douglas (D-Jay), William Ferebee (R-Keene), George Canon (R-Newcomb), Roby Politi (R-North Elba) and Randy Preston (I-Wilmington).

Although the county had planned to hold a joint tax sale with Hamilton County, County Treasurer Michael Diskin said the court order for that county's 12 properties wasn't signed in time.

"They couldn't get their foreclosure signed in time. They are not participating."

lmckinstry@pressrepublican.com

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