Sumter County now owns a problem property that was a code enforcement case for a decade.
The home on County Road 626 near Bushnell was acquired for $100 at a Dec. 7 foreclosure sale.
Other buyers would have had to pay $12,150 in county penalty fees on the property owned by the estate of Ricky Lee Jenkins.
It was the second oldest of the county’s 217 code enforcement cases, including 70 in the foreclosure process.
The case became a focal point for code enforcement after neighbor Caroline Campbell appeared several times before commissioners to complain and demand action.
Campbell said she stopped her husband from bidding on the property because she feared retaliation over her vigilant lobbying.
She said squatters have moved out of the home, but they left behind animals and a small amount of trash. She noted that the home is a known drug house.
Campbell, who has lived 14 months in her home, said her neighbors have dealt with the problem much longer.
“We want our neighborhood cleaned up,” she said.
The county will assume ownership Dec. 18, which is 10 days after a certificate of occupancy was issued by the county clerk. The mandated delay is in case there are objections to the sale.
County Administrator Bradley Arnold said traps will be set near the property to catch stray animals.
After taking control, he said the county will file for demolition permits and the vacant property will be turned over to partners who can build affordable housing.
County Attorney Jennifer Rey told commissioners she is working on two other cases.
She has filed for foreclosure against the estate of Henry William Morrison and others on a Webster property and received a court order declaring judicial default against the estate of Cheryl Lynn Franz and others on another property.