Garrett Neese/Daily Mining Gazette Houghton County Treasurer Lisa Mattila speaks to the Houghton County Board about the county’s land bank fund. The board approved $350,000 to help the fund demolish eight blighted buildings in the county.

HOUGHTON — The Houghton County Board approved $350,000 in American Rescue Plan Act money for the county land bank to demolish eight blighted buildings.

B&B Contracting of Calumet was the low bidder for the demolition work at $380,520. The eight properties are all in Calumet, Calumet Township or Laurium. 

The land bank is also applying to access $200,000 the state legislature allocated to rural counties with land banks through the state land bank. Calumet Township has also pledged support. 

Beyond the original eight properties, the land bank is also looking to tear down four others starting next year. 

Two are in Chassell Township, where the township has taken legal action over the past four years to transfer the buildings from private ownership to the land bank, Lisa Mattila, Houghton County Treasurer, said in a letter to the board. Both properties have deteriorated to “piles of rubble waiting to collapse,” the letter said.

Another one is anticipated to enter the land bank inventory soon. The Calumet building, the former rectory of a church that burned down with no insurance, will enter foreclosure in March. It is next to one of the original eight sites at 336 Seventh St.

The Torch Lake Township supervisor also contacted the land bank about a brick building in Hubbell on M-26. The county building department condemned the structure.

Mattila said the land bank may meet with the land owner to transfer the property through a quick claim deed. If the owner does not want to sell the property, the legal process could take another two years, Mattila said. 

Keweenaw Economic Development Alliance Executive Director Jeff Ratcliffe said cleaning up the properties would reduce blight and boost the area’s economy. Many of the properties are in residential areas. 

“We actually have one individual who’s already talked to Lisa about acquiring for putting a house in,” he said. “We need housing. This is going to provide spots.”

In other action, the board:

• Made appointments to the county’s new mental health transport board. The board named Sheriff Josh Saaranen, Administrator Elizabeth Bjorn, Commissioners Gretchen Janssen and Roy Britz to the board. More members will be named.

• Named representatives to the 911 Advisory Board. Tim Gasperich was named the citizen representative and Joe Panijan of Aspirus as first responder.

• Approved $4,500 for an intermodulation study for the Centennial Tower. 

• Approved a $13,198 contract with Ziemnick Excavating for snow removal. 

• Tabled a defined benefit adoption agreement until the November meeting. 

• Approved fourth-quarter budget amendments.  They did not affect total spending levels, but were done to clean up accounts in preparation for the county audit, Bjorn said.

• Approved exempting the board from the requirements of the Publicly Funded Health Insurance Contribution Act. The county makes the decision annually on the advice of 44 North, the liaison between the county and its insurer, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Bjorn said.

“Because we’re self-insured, it allows that amount (for county and employee health care costs) to be much less than it would if we didn’t opt out of Public Act 152,” she said.