Vacant property committee slates first meeting

An ad hoc committee created by Havre Mayor Tim Solomon to look at how to  tackle the issue of vacant  properties within the city will hold its first meeting Monday at 6 p.m in the conference room at the Havre-Hill County Library, Havre City Council member said in a Facebook conversation Thursday.

The committee will consist of Caleb Hutchins; Samantha Clawson, his wife; state Rep. Jacob Bachmeier D-Havre; Jim Bennett, executive director of Montana State University-Northern Alumni Foundation and Marc Whitacre, an ophthalmologist at Northern Montana Hospital.

Hutchins said the meeting is open to the public. People are free to come and contribute to the discussion.

The committee will research how other communities are dealing with the issues of vacant properties and blight and will ultimately submit a recommendation to the council, Hutchins said.

City Council President Andrew Brekke recommended Solomon create the ad hoc committee and appoint its members after a May 30 meeting of the City Council’s Ordinance Committee in May where Clawson called for the creation of a Vacant Property Registration Ordinance to discourage people from purchasing properties when they have no intention of rehabilitating or selling them at a fair price.

A VPRO would require owners of vacant properties to register with the city. A registry of information of owners and vacant and foreclosed properties would be maintained and accessible to the public and likely posted on a website. It could also require buyers of vacant properties have a timeline and plan to rehabilitate their properties.

Hutchins said Thursday though that a VPRO is just one of a variety of ways to address vacant properties and blight, and the committee will be collecting input and researching other approaches.