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<p>After months of review, Luzerne County&#8217;s administration has fulfilled a promise made by predecessors for at least two decades to identify all parcels listed under county ownership that are not needed.</p><p>Setting aside approximately 14 as prospective revenue-generating billboard sites, the administration was left with 170 properties that can be sold and returned to the tax rolls, county Manager C. David Pedri told council&#8217;s real estate committee Tuesday.</p><p>However, only 60 are being proposed for sale at this time because further legal research is required on the others.</p><p>No deeds can be found for 78 of the properties, even though they are listed as county-owned, he said. To advance to a sale, the county must engage a title searcher, which can be pricey, or file a court action seeking title to the properties after a publication notification, he said.</p><p>Another 32 properties are listed as county-owned with deeds, but the deeds also contain the names of other owners, he said. County ownership of some of these parcels dates to the 1920s.</p><p>An action seeking a county-only title to this real estate also will be necessary, he said.</p><p>&#8220;Every time it seems like I open a box, there&#8217;s another box inside of it. I feel like it&#8217;s one of those Russian nesting dolls,&#8221; Pedri said, adding the ability to list one-third is a &#8220;great start.&#8221;</p><p>County Chief Solicitor Romilda Crocamo said her office will address the properties with joint deeds or no deeds over the next 60 days.</p><p>Pedri proposed an auction of the 60 properties instead of listing them with a Realtor, saying a mass sale could draw the most response and avoid the need to pay a commission fee. County tax-claim operator Northeast Revenue Service LLC had offered to conduct an auction at little or no cost to the county, he said.</p><p>Some of the properties are slivers that would have value to neighbors only, but a few may fetch more, Pedri said, citing a lot in Exeter that is adjacent to the Fox Hill Country Club.</p><p>Committee Chairwoman Jane Walsh Waitkus suggested a minimum bid for this parcel and others that have higher assessments &#8212; an idea Pedri supported.</p><p>Committee members Robert Schnee and Matthew Vough also recommended further review, possibly appraisals, on two Harveys Lake parcels to determine if they should be sold separately.</p><p>One is a small triangular lot &#8212; the acreage was not listed &#8212; on Northview Avenue assessed at $15,700. The other vacant tract is assessed at $122,500, but property records show it has no direct access to infrastructure in a location described as a &#8220;failed subdivision.&#8221;</p><p>If the properties don&#8217;t sell at auction, the county could consider a Realtor or assigning an employee to approach adjacent property owners to drum up interest, Pedri said.</p><p>The committee agreed to propose a resolution authorizing an auction at county council&#8217;s June 26 work session, with a possible council vote in July.</p><p>Citizen Brian Shiner urged the committee to consider first working with a Realtor on commission and posting for-sale signs at the sites, reserving an auction as a last-ditch attempt to unload the properties. Obtaining top dollar is more important than swift action, Shiner said, noting the county has owned some of the properties for a century.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Pedri </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/web1_DavePedri.jpg</photo0><caption0>Pedri </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jennifer Learn-Andes</p><p>jandes@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Luzerne County faces hurdles unloading 170 unused parcels