Last summer, Buncombe County Manager Wanda Green told Xpress the county was considering placing a lien on the CTS property in an effort to recoup the costs of demolishing the derelict building at the contaminated site on Mills Gap Road; but today, the Asheville Citizen-Times reports that county officials are opting not to take that action.
County Attorney Michael Frue told the AC-T that taking steps to force payment — putting a lien on the property and forcing its sale — could expose the county to a much greater financial loss by adding it to the list of parties potentially legally responsible for the contamination.
“I think the decision was just to get (the building) down. It would be problematic to get the money back,” he said.
As Frue put it, “Who in their right mind is going to bid on it? If no one bids on it, then the county owns it.”
That, he said, is not what the county wants.
“Anybody who is an owner of property that is found to be contaminated is a potentially financially responsible party,” Frue said. The county “certainly wouldn’t want to be in that loop.”
See the article in its entirety here:
http://www.citizen-times.com/article/20111221/NEWS/312210047/County-hook-CTS-bill
County Attorney Michael Frue told the AC-T that taking steps to force payment — putting a lien on the property and forcing its sale — could expose the county to a much greater financial loss by adding it to the list of parties potentially legally responsible for the contamination.
“I think the decision was just to get (the building) down. It would be problematic to get the money back,” he said.
As Frue put it, “Who in their right mind is going to bid on it? If no one bids on it, then the county owns it.”
That, he said, is not what the county wants.
“Anybody who is an owner of property that is found to be contaminated is a potentially financially responsible party,” Frue said. The county “certainly wouldn’t want to be in that loop.”
See the article in its entirety here:
http://www.citizen-times.com/article/20111221/NEWS/312210047/County-hook-CTS-bill
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