BARRHEAD - Town of Barrhead councillors set the reserve price and date for a public tax recovery auction during their May 27 meeting.
The auction will be on Aug. 13, in the Town of Barrhead council chambers, starting at 10 a.m., with the reserve set at $108,000.
Corporate services director Jennifer Mantay said the property, the old mill property on the corner of 50th Avenue and 51st Street, has had a caveat on it for over a year, noting the property has been in tax arrears since 2022.
She added that, under Alberta's Municipal Government Act (MGA), the municipality must hold a public auction no later than March 31, 2026.
The agenda package notes Knight and Company Appraisals assessed the property at $108,000.
"We don't want to wait too long because we don't want to continue to add extra costs such as unsightly premises [violation tickets] from bylaw enforcement," Mantay said.
Under the MGA, the municipality must sell the property at or near market value.
Mantay said the municipality, if it was council's wish, could attempt to purchase the property, but they would have to follow the same process as any other party bidding.
In October 2022, the municipality obtained a court order to demolish the long-abandoned building on the property due to safety concerns.
"We were always concerned about fire hazard. If a building like that ever catches fire, it can take down half a block before you get it under control,"
Mayor Dave McKenzie said while watching crews take the building down.
He added that the building had become an impromptu squatting site.
"That's what drew our attention to it. There was evidence that the building had been broken into, with anything of any value being already stolen. It could have gone the way of the Dallas," McKenzie said.
In July 2018, a fire destroyed Barrhead's historic Dallas Hotel on Highway 33.
Barrhead Regional Fire Services chief at the time, John Whittaker, said the fire was likely arson, noting the fire originated in the centre of the structure.
"We have been dealing with a transient population coming in and out of that property for the last year or so, so this wasn't a surprise to us," he said.
The property owner has until the time of the auction to bring the account up to date, including paying all back taxes, penalties, and other costs incurred by the municipality.
Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com
