LOCKPORT — Niagara County will hold its annual tax foreclosure auction at 10 a.m. Saturday in the Shawnee Fire Company hall, 3747 Lockport Road, Wheatfield.

As of the end of last week, 94 properties were on the auction list, but County Treasurer Kyle R. Andrews said the former owners can redeem them by paying the taxes in full by Friday afternoon.

The county is writing off more than $555,000 in unpaid taxes and penalties on those 94 parcels.

Sixteen properties that were in the sale catalog already have been saved from the auction block.

Andrews said he’s taking a somewhat tougher stance on the auction than did his predecessor, David S. Broderick.

Broderick also allowed redemptions until the last minute, but he also allowed some property owners to make agreements with his office to pay off the taxes on the installment plan.

Andrews said he’s not doing that. Also, there are some properties on the auction list, including two houses in Wilson, that were governed by such installment agreements.

“There were some prior properties that had agreements on them, and if the agreements weren’t lived up to, we put them up for auction,” Andrews said.

Under normal circumstances, the county forecloses on properties that have two years of unpaid taxes, although in this auction there are a few parcels whose tax arrears date back to the 1990s.

Notable buildings on the list include vacant commercial structures on the main drags of the villages of Lewiston, Youngstown, Middleport and Barker.

A sandwich shop and ice cream stand at 400 Main St., Youngstown, owned by Angelo Ashker, is slated for auction, along with a vacant lot next door. County records show $15,000 in taxes were unpaid on the two parcels, dating back to 2008.

In Lewiston, 411 Center St., owned by Margaret Toohey, is to go under the hammer. It now houses an insurance office. Unpaid taxes over the past two years total $13,025.

The buildings available on Main Street in Middleport and Quaker Road in Barker are vacant row buildings.

Also, the former Ridge Family Restaurant at Ridge and Plank roads in Cambria is up for bids.

Back in Lewiston, two residential properties formerly owned by Edward and Diane Finkbeiner, owners of the Barton Hill Hotel, are to be auctioned.

The houses at 130 N. First St. and 145 N. Second St. were foreclosed upon after two years of unpaid taxes, totaling more than $11,000. The auction catalog comments on both houses that it looks like remodeling was started but never finished.

The Finkbeiners are trying to fight off a lending company’s foreclosure on their hotel and other properties. Last year, First Niagara Bank seized an apartment house they owned in North Tonawanda.

Town of Niagara subdivisions that were laid out but never developed will take up much auction time Saturday.

The catalog, including bidding and payment rules, is available in the treasurer’s office on Hawley Street or online at auctionsinternational.com.

tprohaska@buffnews.comnull