MONTICELLO — The goal? To acquire, stabilize, and encourage the redevelopment, or renovation, of blighted, foreclosed and abandoned properties throughout Sullivan County, starting in Monticello and Liberty.

But how? That will be the job of the brand new Land Bank Corporation of Sullivan County, whose board held its first meeting on Tuesday.

“We're number 19 out of 20 [approved] in the state,” said Land Bank Chair Freda Eisenberg. “The task is large and the land bank is considered an ‘odd duck,' but this is a step in getting some of the buildings and properties that are eyesores in better shape.”

The meeting focused on creating bylaws, electing officers and establishing sub-committees.

“We want to be very upfront and educate the community on what we're doing,” said Eisenberg. “Some land banks have Community Advisory Boards ... I don't think we're there yet. We sort of need to get our feet operating first, but it's something we can consider in the long run.”

County Legislator Ira Steingart made the suggestion that a good way to start would be to hire an executive director, an experienced professional who would look at the foreclosed/abandoned properties, estimate the cost of work to be done, check titles, and more.

In agreement, the Land Bank Board began discussing the job description, whether they should be full-time or part-time, and what their salary would be.

“To be honest, the success of this land bank and these projects will be the executive director,” assessed Steingart, “because it can't be successful if it's board members trying to do that work.”

Another topic: once the properties are acquired, to whom do they sell?

“We're tired of 70 percent landlords,” stated Monticello Village Manager Dave Sager. “What's good about this is we can manage who the properties are being sold to.”

The board plans to meet again on March 2 and will continue meeting every second Tuesday of the month at 8:30 a.m. in the Legislative Committee Room in the Government Center in Monticello. The meetings are open to the public.