City Council approves sale of property to Opportunity Village

 The Clear Lake City Council approved the sale of city owned residential property Monday night to Opportunity Village.
 Opportunity Village will pay $40,000 for the lot at 1115 and the north half of 1119 S. 3rd St. The Village intends to build a single-story home on the 85 x 130-foot parcel. Four clients will reside in the single story home.

 Approval of the land sale was unanimous, but not without comment and explanation from Council members.
 Councilmen Jim Boehnke and Gary Hugi both expressed their objection to the city’s purchase of three properties in the 1100 block of South 3rd Street in December 2013. However, each noted that since the purchase occurred, the city must move forward and they supported the sale to Opportunity Village.
 Councilman Mike Callanan explained the homes had been listed for sale at various times and were a serious blight in the neighborhood. Opportunity Village approached the City, saying it was looking for areas to build homes for residents in response to a federally mandated order to locate its clients in smaller dwellings.
“I didn’t want to see the City get in the real estate business either, but we could help Clear Lake’s largest employer with a problem they have,” said Callanan. “It will take a few dollars and will clean up three blighted properties. Many motivations justify this.”
The city purchased the three homes at 1115, 1119 and 1123 for $98,000, approximately 107 percent of assessed value. The city is assisting the Village by waiving a building permit and water connection fees, according to City Administrator Scott Flory. Construction must be completed within 18 months.