HUBBARD TOWNSHIP — Trustees will continue to review their options on a structure that has been the center of debate for two straight meetings.

Trustee Bill Colletta explained to residents and trustees at last week’s regular meeting that he went out to the McDowell Street property with a contractor after May’s meeting. He said after an external review that he deemed “very, very explicit,” there were some matters with which he didn’t want to get involved.

“There are some issues I do not want to get involved with on this, along with the costs going up; he (the contractor) now estimates the cost (of removal) at $15,000,” Colletta said. “We will not recoup that.”

Colletta said there are several ways to go about it when a township does a project similar to the demolition, such as billing the homeowner and assessing their taxes if they refuse to pay the township. He said if the land bank took over the property, they would have options such as the property’s taxes being exempted or forgiven, and having it be given away.

“Very different things; so if we would do anything, we would be covered to get our monies back. There’s no free property the township would give away until the lien is taken care of,” Colletta said.

Colletta said the land bank wouldn’t be allowed to wipe all liens off the property, even if they were the township’s, in response to Trustee Jason Tedrow’s request for clarification.

Colletta used grass cutting liens as an example, explaining that if the land bank took over, the lien would remain until the township signed off on its removal.

“There’s some structural issues with the neighboring house down the street; that is the issue of a big holdup,” Colletta said. “This board does not want to get involved. We do not want to damage that basement.”

“Number two, with a cost factor going up, we will never absorb that back on that small of a lot,” he added.

Officials originally voted 2-1 to hire Crump Construction for the demolition of the McDowell Street structure, costing $9,700, at April’s meeting. The resolution ended up being held because one of the trustees said they could have the demolition done through the Trumbull County Council of Governments.

However, they received a letter from the Trumbull County Engineer’s Office stating otherwise.