CANFIELD City to lease land bought at auction

The city hopes to have a loan to buy the farm by July 3.
By IAN HILL
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
CANFIELD -- Red Gate Farm will remain a farm until at least next spring, city Manager Charles Tieche says.
Tieche said the city will lease 288 acres of the farm to a farmer through next March or April. The city also will offer a yearlong lease for the farm's buildings, he said.
"If it sits there vacant, it will deteriorate," Tieche said.
The city also will be able to increase its revenue by collecting rent on the land and buildings, he said.
Tieche, representing the city, was the winning bidder for 288 acres of the 298-acre farm on Leffingwell Road in Canfield Township at auction in May. The city is working out the details of an agreement to buy the land for $2.4 million from the estate of Anne Kilcawley Christman.
City council unanimously approved an ordinance Wednesday to offer leases for the farmland and buildings lasting not more than three years. Council has no long-term plans for the farm, but Mayor Lee Frey said the city wants to make money off the land in an effort to protect itself from future financial problems.
Funding for purchase
The city will use about $1.1 million in land acquisition and capital improvements funds to cover some of the cost of the farm. The rest of the money is expected to come from a $1.3 million loan. Tieche wants to have a loan agreement with a bank signed by July 3.
Tieche noted the first leases will last only about a year, as the city may have other plans for the land and buildings after that time. The city will seek bids on the leases.
The highest bidder will receive the leases, Tieche said. The city has not decided how much it should receive under the lease.
Tieche added that he wants to offer the leases "as quickly as possible" so that farmers have enough time to plant crops.
Farmer Marvin Martig of Beloit said "it'd be a real challenge" to plant crops this late in the spring. Martig said he leased 190 acres of the farm last year from Kilcawley Christman's estate. He wouldn't say how much he paid.
Much work to be done
Martig also hopes to lease the land from the city this year. He noted, however, that whoever leased the land from the city would have to work to make it suitable for farming.
Ditches on the property need to be plowed shut, and the land needs to be fertilized, Martig said.
"It's been neglected," Martig said. "There's a lot of little things that need to be fixed for it to be a good farm."
Tieche added that right now, "the crop on it is dandelions."
Martig said that if he leased the land this year, he would spend the summer working to make it suitable for farming. He would then plant winter wheat in September.
Kilcawley Christman, who died in April 2002, was the only child of William Kilcawley, well-known philanthropist and secretary-treasurer of Standard Slag. Co. Kilcawley bought the farm in 1945.
He lived on the farm with his family until his death in 1958.
hill@vindy.com