(Spirit Lake)– There’s nothing new to report on the status of negotiations with owners of some properties Dickinson county is in the process of purchasing on the west side of Ithaca Avenue across from the courthouse in Spirit Lake.
The board of supervisors voted a couple years ago to purchase under contract buildings that formerly housed a laundromat and gas station. The county won’t take full ownership of the buildings until contract payments run out several years from now. The land is needed for the courthouse project…tentatively scheduled to start this coming summer.
Assistant County Attorney Lonnie Saunders told the supervisors Tuesday he’s had limited contact so far with an attorney that represents the parties from which the county is purchasing the properties. He expects to have more information next week, when the supervisors are scheduled to meet in closed session to further talk about the situation.
Terms of the contracts allow the county to pay them off early subject to penalty. But atleast one supervisor, Wayne Northey, has expressed opposition to doing that.
