OTC to look into cleaning up property

By Chad Koenen

Publisher

A dilapidated building that has been the subject of countless city council meetings over the past decade could be one step closer to being cleaned up.

During its regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, Aug. 22, the Deer Creek City Council heard that Otter Tail County will look into cleaning up the property at 107 N Clark St. The property was recently seized by Otter Tail County through the tax forfeitures proceedings, allowing it to clean up the property or demolish it if needed.

Deer Creek City Clerk/Treasurer Tom Parish said the decision is now in the hands of Otter Tail County, who will also be responsible for the cost of removing or cleaning up the structure.

Parish said he is not sure how long it will take for the individuals from Otter Tail County to come to Deer Creek to inspect the building, but the hope was to have this take place sooner rather than alter. 

Deer Creek Mayor Troy Beiswinger said if the structure is going to be torn down it could make sense to see if it could be used as a controlled burn and training for the fire department, provided it isn’t too close to other buildings in the area.

In other news

• Heard that the City of Deer Creek had a voter turn out of roughly 18.5 percent during the primary. Parish said Deer Creek Township, who has slightly more registered voters than the City of Deer Creek, had a similar voter turn out.

• Heard the City of Deer Creek will receive $78,398 in LGA funding in 2023. That is up 1.91 percent from last year. 

• Heard that there will be a firefighters training at the former Compton Town Hall building on September 10. The building was burned by a suspected arson earlier this year and will eventually be burned down after the training exercises are completed.