Oconto County will sell and move as many of the 14 homes north of the courthouse as possible to make way for a law enforcement center and will partner with Habitat for Humanity and the Oconto County Highway Department to clear the area.
That was the consensus Aug. 6 of the county Public Property and Law Enforcement Judiciary committees, which will oversee the $30 million project to build a law enforcement center with sheriff’s offices and a jail. The center will replace an outdated facility in the courthouse complex that needs major repairs and has limited capacity.
Marla Britton, of SRF Consulting, said if a home can be moved, it would save the county the demolition costs, estimated by the Highway Department to cost $19,000 per home. Plus, the county can earn revenue by selling the homes to private parties that will coordinate the moving process, relieving the county of the responsibility of moving or demolishing the structure.
“That’s why I’d like to move as many as possible,” said Kevin Hamann, Oconto County administrative coordinator.
Acquisition of the 14 parcels, managed by SRF Consulting, of Madison, began in March.
The county closed on two properties July 31 and is scheduled to close on four more Friday and two others Aug. 31, according to an update by SRF Consulting, which is providing acquisition services for the county. Two others are scheduled to close some time in August. Negotiations are continuing on the other parcels.
The county has become a short-term landlord, renting to the former home owners for up to 45 days, as the property transitions to county ownership.
In closed session, the committees reviewed requests from home owners interesting in retaining some items from their homes.
The committees agreed to work with Habitat for Humanity of Marinette to salvage what it can from inside the homes, instead of contracting with a private vendor for salvage work.
“There’s some pretty nice kitchens in a number of these homes … even plumbing fixtures are things (Habitat for Humanity) is desperately in need of all the time,” Britton said.
She said Habitat for Humanity has the potential to earn revenue by reselling items to people doing remodeling projects.
Britton estimated the properties have a salvage value of $10,000 from a private contractor, but the committee decided to go with the nonprofit organization instead.
Homes that aren’t good candidates for a move or aren’t sold to private parties will be demolished, possibly by the Highway Department in April, which is a slow time for the department. The department provided an estimate of $265,000 to demolish all the buildings, but with the plans to move some of the structures, the costs will decrease.
Britton said home moving will begin in October and continue through the winter and conclude before road limits are imposed in the spring.
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