By DENISE A. RAYMO
MALONE — Abandoned gas stations, boarded-up apartment buildings and vacant lots will be part of the 2009 land sale in Franklin County next month.
It could be the third time in a row that the county takes in more than it is owed in delinquent taxes.
The auction is set for 10 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 7, at the Greater Malone YMCA at the corner of Webster and Main streets in Malone.
Owners have until 4 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 6, to redeem their properties and prevent them from being sold.
The pre-auction booklet lists 108 parcels, but the number can change as the date gets closer because some owners may pay what is owed, County Treasurer Bryon Varin noted.
Others will not be included because they are part of the ongoing land-claims areas under dispute in and around the St. Regis Mohawk territory at Akwesasne.
Varin said several towns are interested in having certain properties turned over to them for use, including Waverly, Constable, Chateaugay, Fort Covington and the Village of Malone.
Their requests are still under review, he said.
Legislators questioned the results of the last county land auction, saying they were not informed about the final outcome.
Legislator Paul Maroun (R-Tupper Lake) wanted an explanation because he was concerned the legislature was giving out inaccurate information to taxpayers.
Varin said he provides an auction summary to be placed on file with clerk of the legislature.
At the most recent auction, held in August 2007, the county took in $852,300 on 92 properties, but the tax delinquency owed was around $735,357. That means the county earned about $116,943 extra.
In October 2005, 139 properties were sold for $1,132,700, but the tax delinquency was about $934,922. The county's net profit at that auction was $197,778.
County Court Judge Robert G. Main Jr. is required to sign off on each foreclosure before a land sale can take place, Varin said. He was presented the paperwork in May 2008 and finished it in July 2009.
Among the parcels to be sold are an abandoned gas station at 129 Fort Covington St. and the former Alaskan Oil mini mart on Route 11, next to McDonald's Restaurant in Malone.
Cabins in wooded areas in the Town of Duane will also be auctioned, as will vacant lots in Harrietstown, Franklin, Tupper Lake, Bombay, Burke, Brandon, Dickinson, Chateaugay, Constable, Moira, Waverly, Westville and Fort Covington.
E-mail Denise A. Raymo at: draymo@pressrepublican.com
