Chillicothe & Ross County — The land bank has learned a lot in its decade, and is encountering new situations…but also has new strategies and tools in its mission to clean up dilapidated properties.
The Ross County Land Reutilization Corporation, better known as the Chillicothe and Ross County “land bank,” will have its bimonthly meeting this morning (November 17th) with the Ross County Commissioners.
After the previous Land Bank meeting on September 22nd, 2025, I asked its chair, Chillicothe Mayor Luke Feeney, about some of the requests from neighbors of dilapidated properties.
One couple in Bourneville say they have been struggling with an abandoned house that damaged their property with a fire, and is now overgrown and infested with rodents. They asked for help to acquire the property, but requested only partial demolition of it.
Feeney said the Land Bank can acquire properties when the Ross County Prosecutor files foreclosures because of back taxes, and then they go up for public auction. But that is difficult when an owner is dead and there is no clear new owner.
Feeney said the Land Bank is eager to help, but is not an enforcing agency and can only assist within its rules.
The Land Bank had also discussed its possible role in helping to purchase the paper mill, as that situation was still under way…before U.S. Medical Glove Company bought it on October 7th.
Hear Feeney in his own words in the below video interview.
