The city of Mount Clemens purchased the dilapidated property at 213 Court Street through the Macomb County tax foreclosure roll on Oct. 2. Habitat for Humanity will consider the property as a candidate for rehabilitation.
By: Dean Vaglia | Mount Clemens-Clinton-Harrison Journal | Published October 7, 2023
MOUNT CLEMENS — In a brief meeting on Monday, Oct. 2, the Mount Clemens City Commission approved the purchase of a residence in the northeast corner of the township.
The dilapidated and vacant home at 213 Court Street was spotted on Macomb County’s tax foreclosure list for about $9,200. While the home had been in its poor state for some time, city officials say now was the right time to buy the home.
“We had the chance to pick it up on tax foreclosure versus going for one that’s owned by somebody,” City Manager Gregg Shipman said. “The initial plan was to demo it … but I reached out to Habitat for Humanity and they want to see it. They like to rehabilitate versus build new, and they said, ‘We’ve taken some things that you would probably think would have to be torn down and actually rehabilitate them.’”
City Attorney Michael Murray laid out how taking the property though the tax foreclosure roll would give it a clean financial slate.
“The tax foreclosure eliminates the mortgage that’s on the property, and this is a piece of property that has been basically falling down for the last 10 years,” Murray said. “The owner fell into ill health. He’s a retiree from the city and there was a mortgage on the property; therefore, there wasn’t too much the city was going to be able to in terms of just walking in and demolishing it without paying off the mortgage.”
If Habitat for Humanity is not interested in the house, it will be demolished.
DEI Training
City officials also approved a contract with The Leadership Group LLC, based in Lake Orion, to provide diversity, equity and inclusion training and consulting for city employees, including city commissioners, for about $25,800. TLG had the lowest contract price out of the four firms that bid.
DEI training for all staff members was outlined as one of the city’s fiscal year 2024 strategic goals. TLG will customize its training plan based on an initial survey and provide in-person training in Mount Clemens. The end of the training will involve TLG drafting a DEI policy for the city.