LOWVILLE — A former feed mill in Croghan is among the 23 parcels that may be sold next month at Lewis County's fourth annual tax auction.
The county recently foreclosed on the properties, including the former Farney Feed Mill building on Main Street in Croghan, because of unpaid taxes from January 2006.
The two-story feed mill, assessed at $175,600, has been vacant for the past couple of years. It was operated as Cows R Us for its last several years in business.
Two other tiny tax parcels, also owned by Cows R Us, that are adjacent to the former mill also are slated for auction.
This year's auction, conducted by Haroff Auction & Realty Inc., Schroon Lake, is scheduled for 11 a.m. May 14 at the Lowville Elks Lodge, 5600 Shady Ave.
Brochures listing available properties are available at several locations, including the treasurer's and clerk's offices in the county courthouse on North State Street and the village office on Dayan Street. Yellow signs have been posted at properties to be auctioned.
Auction information, including any parcels pulled from the auction since the brochures were printed, also is available on Haroff's Web site. One property — the Beaver Falls Mini-Mart — already has been removed from the auction because of lienholder issues.
Internet bidding also will be available.
Last year, only 16 of 30 foreclosed properties were auctioned off, with 12 redeemed by their owners and two — the former Adirondack Mountain Sun building in Lowville and the former Castorland Hotel — pulled from the auction.
County legislators later in the year accepted a proposal by Michael Hanno, Lowville, and Thomas S. Compo, Watson, to buy the former Mountain Sun building for $10,000 and rehabilitate it. And the former hotel was sold privately for $16,600 to Scott C. Sauer, who has since renovated the two-story structure into apartments.
Owners of the properties slated for auction may redeem them up to five business days before the date of the auction. However, to do so, they must pay all delinquent taxes, penalties and fees from both January 2006 and 2007, plus an extra 10 percent of that amount as an auctioneer's fee and 5 percent of the parcel's full value.
Of the 23 parcels still slated for auction, eight are in the town of Croghan, while three apiece are in the towns of Diana and Osceola.
Eight of the properties are listed as vacant land, while five are occupied homes or cottages.
