Title
Making revised recommendation to Ramsey County on the application of Home Buyers, LLC for repurchase of tax forfeited property at 702 WILSON AVENUE adopted by Council under File No. RLH OA 22-2.
Body
WHEREAS, the Board of Ramsey County Commissioners referred a repurchase application for property at 702 Wilson Avenue to the City of Saint Paul for a recommendation;
WHEREAS, the City of Saint Paul has reviewed police, building, and property maintenance code violations within the past five years; and
WHEREAS, the City of Saint Paul has determined that the property at 702 Wilson Avenue has been a municipal problem;
WHEREAS, on February 23, 2022, the City Council of the City of Saint Paul adopted Council File No. RLH OA-22-2 recommending that the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners deny the repurchase application for the property at 702 Wilson Avenue, and in the event it approves the application, that it make a condition that the property be transferred within 90 days;
WHEREAS, Ramsey County Tax Forfeited Land staff has requested a second review of this case, as staff did not provided the City with all relevant information pertaining to the repurchase application, especially regarding 1) the exact nature of the repurchase applicant's lien/ownership position with the property; 2) the City had not been provided the actual application for repurchase; and
WHEREAS, a Legislative Hearing was held on March 29 and April 12, 2022 to review this request;
RESOLVED the City of Saint Paul recommends that the Board of Ramsey County Commissioners approve the application for re-purchase, noting the City is asking the County to prioritize the following: 1) the County should order a Code Compliance Inspection report from the City's Department of Safety and Inspections, which enumerates the corrections required to bring the property into minimum code compliance and be issued a Certificate of Code Compliance; 2) the Contract for Deed executed with the prospective purchaser should include the expectation that a code compliance certificate be received in order to meet the terms of the contract; 3) the execution of the Contract for Deed be premised on the prospective purchaser's demonstration of the capacity to complete the rehabilitation of the property by way of a sworn construction statement or similar document and financing sufficient to execute that plan; and 4) the length of time granted by the County in the Contract for Deed with the prospective purchaser grant be the shortest period of time legally possible in order to complete the rehabilitation, in consideration of the significant code enforcement and police problems this property has brought to the neighborhood over many years and the need to re-establish stability at this location; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, that the City Clerk is requested to forward a certified copy of this Council resolution to the Ramsey County Tax Forfeited Land Office, 90 Plato Boulevard West for final processing.