07/22/11 What appeared to be a simple sale of town owned property ended as a long, complicated transaction. Little over a year ago, Holly Minix asked the Argos Town Council if she could purchase the town lot next to her home. The lot, located on the corner of Michigan and Williams Streets, is too small for a residence to be built. Holly wanted the lot for a garage and yard space for her children. After the Council followed the legal requirements to sell town property it was discovered, through a title search, that there were several judgments attached to the property from previous owners. It took a year for the Council to clear the judgments from the property. “It is good that we were able to put this property back on the tax rolls.” commented Dave Walker, Council President.
This spring Joe Stone approached the Council to purchase the lot next to his home on East Walnut Street. The now vacant lot once had a small log cabin that was the meeting place for the local boy scouts years ago. The lot consists of two parcels. One parcel owned by the town and the other parcel to the Walnut Township. Derek Jones, Town Attorney, contacted the Walnut Trustee, Steve Wilhelm, concerning the sale. Steve said the Township Board was willing to sell their parcel and split the legal fees with the Town. Derek suggested to the Council to do a title search before selling the lot to make sure there will be no problems.
