By Terry Witt – Spotlight Senior Reporter

            A vacant and dilapidated building in Williston that has drawn the scorn of residents for years due to its shabby and unsafe appearance is headed for city foreclosure in the near future.

            Williston City Attorney Kiersten Ballou announced at the most recent council meeting earlier this week that the owner of Pesso’s Pawn Shop, Michael Pesso, hasn’t responded to the city’s petition demanding clean-up and repair of the site and payment of accumulated fines.

            Councilman Elihu Ross has asked during many council meetings for the status of the proceedings on the building and whether the city was going forward with foreclosure.

            “Mr. Ross will be glad to hear, and so you all will, we finally have a default on the property that has been entered by the clerk. We should be off and rolling toward a foreclosure at any time,” Ballou said.

            “What does that mean?” said Ross, retiring senior member of the board.

            “It means the clerk has decided that because Mr. Pesso did not respond to our petition, there is no response now that will be accepted from him, so we’re free to move on without needing any input from Mr. Pesso,” Ballou responded.

            She said the city will ask the court to enter a final judgment of foreclosure awarding the city its unpaid lien. The property then will go to a public sale when the city can purchase the property for the price of the unpaid fines and take ownership.

            “Or someone else can purchase it for the price of our lien,” said Mayor Charles Goodman.

            Ballou said they can’t purchase the building for less than the lien. “Yes, if they can’t purchase it for more than the lien we have on it,” Ballou responded.

            Ballou was asked if she knew the amount of the lien. She said she didn’t have that information with her but she could get back to the person asking the question.

            “It goes up daily,” Council President Debra Jones said. “We’re talking about the property at the top of the hill next to Tractor Supply for everyone’s information – the one that’s falling down.”

            The city council has long had concerns about the safety of the property as well as its bedraggled appearance. Council members didn’t want police, fire, or code enforcement entering the building in an emergency and having it collapse on them or something fall on them.

            They were also concerned children could decide it was an inviting place to play or explore and possibly get hurt. The city tried to force Pesso to repair the site, clean it up, and pay the back fines, but he never responded.

            He has other vacant properties in the city.

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City of Williston Regular Meeting March 21, 2023; Posted March 26, 2023