The Starke County Commissioners did not act on a request to vacate property submitted by Tom DeCola of Argento, LLC as a procedure needs to be completed before the commissioners will take action on it.
The request was somewhat similar to a previous request that was denied by the commissioners in 2020. DeCola asked to vacate portions of land surrounding property he owns off of U.S. 421 in San Pierre. One reason he gave was to prevent trespassing.
DeCola previously petitioned to vacate the portion of land adjacent to the property and into the center of a parcel that was meant to be an extension of Clay Street to White Street, but it never materialized. He would also like to vacate to the center lane of the alleys adjacent to the lots.
At the time, the commissioners expressed opposition to giving up alleyways for the potential of utility improvements, like broadband service.
DeCola was not present during the commissioners’ discussion on the matter. The amended paperwork offered to the commissioners Monday night showed different property lines that would not affect the neighbors, but County Attorney Marty Lucas said publication of the proposed request should be done before the commissioners take action.
“I think that Mr. DeCola is correct in saying that there weren’t any neighboring parties that he had to give specific notice to,” stated Lucas. “However, in my opinion, it still needs to have a publication pursuant to IC 5-3-1. I don’t think it can come to a proper hearing. I think we can contact DeCola or ask him if he is still continuing with it. If he is, he needs to bring that in and get it published, but I don’t think you can rule on it one way or another.”
With that, the commissioners did not take action on the request.
