Milford buys 44-acre parcel from county

Milford Township has purchased a 44-acre parcel of land in the township from Oakland County after there was no payment made on the parcel’s special assessment for four years by its previous owner.

The parcel is located off of Moore Road and Old Plank Road and is part of 677 acres, or one square mile, of consent judgment properties, but the unpaid assessment was confined to that one parcel.

Township Treasurer Cynthia Dagenhardt said that the township paid $469,000 for the parcel, including interest and penalties, as well as $11,600 in property taxes.

Township Supervisor Don Green added that the parcel’s previous owners, Joel and Dale Garrett, and the Troy-based Robertson Brothers development company were to develop 600 units on the 677 acres, but none were built.

“The township is now responsible for the bonds that were purchased for the (special assessment district),” Green said. “(Garrett-Robertson) never pulled a permit for building, engineering, or property.”

He added that Oakland County paid the special assessment and taxes for the parcel for four years and the township has, in turn, purchased the parcel from the county.

“We’ve reallocated all the special assessments to each parcel,” Green said.

The original plan before the new millennium was to develop an upscale residential community on the property, but the township didn’t have sewer service in the area.

That led to the owners threatening to annex the development site into the city of Wixom in order to receive sewer services.

The township ended up installing a sewer system along Pontiac Trail as required by a consent judgment and set up a special assessment district (SAD) for the 44-acre parcel.

Green added that there is pending litigation between the township and Garrett-Robertson.

Dagenhardt said that the township had to purchase the parcel for its best interests since it had already invested so much into it.

“It’s worth around $306,000. I would think when things turn around someone would want to buy it,” she said.

Dagenhardt added that Garrett-Robertson also has 15 other parcels in the area with delinquent taxes and special assessments dating back to 2009, and if the taxes and assessments for 2009 aren’t paid by March 2012, the foreclosure process will begin.