An auction that was scheduled Friday in Mount Airy — of land beside a controversial building the city government could be demolishing in the coming months — wasn’t held as planned, with no reason for that readily emerging.
“Actually what they did was postpone it,” Mayor Ron Niland said Friday afternoon of organizers for the auction of a small parcel located along West Pine Street adjoining what is commonly known as the former Koozies property.
“And I have no idea why they did that,” added Niland, who was relaying an update from City Manager Stan Farmer.
The Mount Airy Board of Commissioners had voted 4-1 on March 17 to have Farmer or a designee submit a bid on the municipality’s behalf at the scheduled auction.
“It just came up kind of strange,” Niland said of what will be a one-week postponement, based on a text message he had received from the city manager. “But I was surprised by that.”
The former Koozies building at 455 Franklin St., which also is bordered by West Pine and South streets and is named for a private club once operating there, has been the subject of much debate in recent years over its dilapidated condition.
It is located in a section of town declared a blighted area about seven years ago by a now-defunct city redevelopment commission that eyed major changes there including installing a traffic roundabout for a gateway to downtown Mount Airy.
More recently, the city commissioners voted 4-1 in February to give the owners of the former Koozies building and two other substandard structures nearby 90 days to bring the buildings up to code or have them demolished.
If no action is taken by then, the city government can move forward with the razing on its own, and possibly end up seizing the land to recoup the demolition costs.
That has been stated as a reason for the city’s interest in the small parcel on West Pine Street, which would provide more space for a potential redevelopment of the Koozies property, the mayor has said.
While the parcel amounts to only about a quarter-acre, its possible acquisition by the municipality has attracted a disproportionate amount of criticism, including from Commissioner Jon Cawley.
Cawley voted against the city submitting the bid, saying he doesn’t believe it should be competing against the private sector that otherwise likely would buy the property.
He further pointed out that the city government has no clear-cut need for the small parcel owned by two sisters in Lewisville.
Cawley also had objected to the ultimatum issued to the owners of the three buildings in February.
Possible complication
Since the March 17 vote by the majority of commissioners to submit the bid, it was disclosed that local businessman Wes Collins had bought a half-share of the site from one of the sisters unbeknownst to city officials.
Collins owns property on West Pine Street which adjoins the land in question and contains a building.
Despite knowing this, Mount Airy officials still planned to send Farmer to Friday’s auction, which was to occur under a judicial proceeding known as a commissioner’s sale — typically done to satisfy a debt.
Mayor Niland did not know Friday what impact the sale of half the property might have had on the auction postponement.
“I’m just really not sure about that,” he said.
However, another source involved with the auction disclosed later Friday that an alleged notification issue was involved.
“Certain heirs stated that they had not received notice of the sale — that’s all I would say,” that source advised, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Collins, the neighboring property owner who bought the half-share of the land in question, declined to comment on the situation Friday afternoon.
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com
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