Resident questions vacant house sales

OGDENSBURG — During discussion with Ogdensburg Council officials, April 24, resident Eric Schmidl asked how many vacant houses in Ogdensburg could not be sold due to high tax liens.
Mayor Steve Ciasullo explained when properties were not sold at the tax auction last fall, there could be numerous other reasons why including: location or not being able to flip a property. Therefore, it is unknown how many properties were not sold due to high tax liens.
As an aside, Ciasullo continued, the borough last year budgeted $10,000 for the attorney to move forward with auctioning off, turning over to the state, or foreclosing nine to 12 wet land properties, in order to relieve the town of that tax burden.
Ciasullo also reviewed the possibility of collecting rents from the fuel station on Main St. However, he added, they hope the owner will clear his tax bill, including 18 percent owed to the borough. That property did not sell, he said, and the borough bought it, which is very rare for most towns to buy a piece of property.
Schmidl also brought up the need to buy a new fire truck in light of Franklin adding 300 apartments. He said, “That might force our hand,” and suggested purchasing a commercial chassis, which would last a long time and save a lot of money.
If there ever were a fire in the 300 apartments, Schmidl said, Ogdensburg would be called on for mutual aid. He added the apartments will be about four stories; and the closest elevated platforms are Sparta and Newton. He also mentioned hopefully the possibility of obtaining a grant.
Ciasullo said the state of N.J. released a report, within around the last five years, to help local governments purchase fire equipment. Plus, he said, he knows “a little about fire trucks.” He and Councilman George Hutnick told the volunteer fire department they want to be proactive about future fire equipment.
He agreed with Schmidl that the Franklin apartments may dictate what is necessary. Ciasullo added, “Who knows, maybe we can get into some kind of conversation with them [Franklin] on it.”