Allen County commissioners signed off Tuesday on a change to Humboldt’s neighborhood revitalization program.
Humboldt City Administrator Larry Tucker presented a change in the filing deadline for property owners to seek property tax refunds for improving their properties.
Tucker relayed the story of Roger and Patty Mintz, who in 2009 purchased a house built by the Humboldt High School building trades class. An appeal to get the property taxes refunded was rejected because the application was not filed in time — because the Mintzes did not buy the home before the deadline passed.
Humboldt City Council members approved a change in the program, extending the filing deadline to one year after a building permit is issued. Previously, a 60-day filing window was all that was allowed.
Through the revitalization plan property owners who increase their property’s values will receive a complete refund of property taxes, less 5 percent administration charges by the county, for six years, declining by 20 percent annually over the next four years.
The city must receive the go-head from the county, USD 258 and Allen County Community College to proceed with the change.
Tucker also invited the county commissioners to the Humboldt City Council’s Public Safety Committee meeting May 25, where topics will include the fate of the fire station and ambulance barn.
Tucker and county commissioners also discussed briefly the state of the Humboldt Senior Center, which is owned by the county.
The Senior Center is in dire need of repairs, and a proposal to replace it with a new center near a planned senior housing complex on the north side of town was scuttled last year.
But the need is still there, Tucker said.
COMMISSIONERS said they would visit further with Public Works Superintendent Bill King before deciding where, and how soon, Old U.S. 169 should be restriped.
King noted that a portion of the road south of Humboldt was recently upgraded and needs striping to make it safer for the heavy traffic flow. He also noted that the old highway north and south of Iola needed to be restriped, but he wasn’t sure if painting those portions should be done now because both will be resurfaced in the coming years.
King said he was hesitant to pay to have those portions painted, only to have the striping removed as the road is milled.
King said he would look at the county’s options before coming back to commissioners with a recommendation.
