The ownership of the Wiarton cenotaph is finally being settled.
No bidders came forward during a tax sale last month for the cenotaph property on Berford St., which now clears the way for South Bruce Peninsula council to take formal ownership of the property.
The issue of ownership was first raised to council in 2011, when it was discovered that while the land was donated in 1922 for the purpose of establishing the cenotaph in Wiarton, the deed was never registered and the ownership never officially changed hands.
The original owner of the property died in 1928 and the municipal lawyer was unable to determine if the man has any living descendants.
Manager of Financial Services Michael Humble says they had to allow tax arrears to build up on the property so they could put it up for tax sale, and were finally able to do that this year.
He says they took steps to ensure nobody came forward with a bid for the cenotaph property.
"We took what actions we could last year to make sure the use would never change. We registered it formally as a cenotaph, we put a heritage designation on it, just all steps to discourage people from bidding when we put the property up for tax sale," says Humble.
