NORTH LEWISBURG – A portion of the village-owned property at 395 Mill St. will be auctioned. The village council unanimously passed a motion approving the sale during its Aug. 4 meeting.
On Feb. 26, the village acquired the 5.4-acre lot in front of the village’s water treatment plant and well field for $100,000. The property contains a house, pole barn and two Quonset buildings. Village Administrator Andy Yoder said the village purchased the land primarily to meet an Environmental Protection Agency mandate requiring a 300-foot radius around its wells. Besides meeting the EPA requirement, Yoder said, the acreage gives the village the ability to drill another well if needed.
To help recoup the costs of acquiring the property, council agreed to sell a piece of the land. The parcel being sold contains over six-tenths of an acre, the house and one of the Quonset barns.
Mayor Jason Keeran said that legally the village has two options in terms of how it could sell the parcel – via sealed bid or public auction.
Following an executive session to discuss the two options, council agreed to an Oct. 1 public auction conducted by Phil Thompson Auction Sales.
“With the auctioneer and the extra advertisement, we felt it might sell at a better/more competitive price (than a sealed bid),” Yoder said.
Upcoming event
Union County Chamber & Tourism Director Tina Knotts spoke to council about the upcoming eighth annual Covered Bridge Bluegrass Festival to be held Sept. 18-20 at the Pottersburg Bridge on the far east side of the village’s multi-purpose trail.
This year’s event, Knotts said, will feature a sunset dinner on the bridge on Sept. 18, breakfast on the bridge, guided tours of local covered bridges, an ice cream social, food trucks, activities for kids, horse-drawn wagon rides, an arts/antiques marketplace and a morning worship service on Sept. 20.
To coincide with the festival, the village will hold free community-wide yard sales.
In other business:
•Champaign County Deputy Josh Welty introduced himself as the new night-time deputy for the village.
•Keeran read a proclamation declaring the week of Sept. 17-23 as “Constitution Week.” He stated to kick off the celebration, a bell ringing ceremony will be held at 4 p.m. on Sept. 17 at Freedom Grove, 1512 S. U.S. Route 68, Urbana.
