Land bank returns strong

SANDUSKY — The Erie County Land Reutilization Corp., better known as the land bank, has enjoyed a number of early successes in its first quarter of renewed operations. Since the land bank board approved the hiring of Alex Jones at its September meeting, the land bank has approved the sale of six properties with four more sales pending. These sales will result in over $80,000 worth of property being transferred back to residents of the city of Sandusky, Perkins Township and Margaretta Township. Returning these properties back to private ownership also means that they will be added back to the tax rolls. Rejuvenating the land bank was a point of emphasis for myself, the newly elected Erie County treasurer, Caleb Stidham. The purpose of our land Bank is to take blighted and unproductive land and return it back into the hands of responsible taxpayers. These sales are just the beginning of what we plan to do to help the communities of Erie County become more attractive places to live, work and play. This month, the state of Ohio introduced two separate programs that will benefit Erie County: The Brownfield Remediation Program and the Building Demolition and Site Revitalization Program. These two programs will bring $1.5 million to Erie County, $1 million for brownfield remediation and $500,000 for building demolition, for the remediation of environmental hazards and the removal of blighted residential and commercial properties, respectively. The Erie County Land Bank, in conjunction with Erie County's regional planning department, will be leading the charge to allocate these dollars to eliminate blight across Erie County. We see this funding as having great potential for our county and state. We are working with our local partners across Erie County to ensure that every area of the county has an opportunity to seek this funding.