“They pay dues to be a member of the post, but if they don’t want to be members here anymore, they can leave or transfer to a new location,” Pierce said.
At the sheriff’s auction Friday, the property was purchased for $33,334 by Park Hills Centre, a company owned by Tom Lagos. Lagos bought interest in the property from the bank prior to the auction, said Bill Crump, sheriff sales specialist.
The original Security National Bank mortgage established when the hall opened in May 2004 was $81,000. At the time of foreclosure, AMVETS owed $60,487.04 in addition to $10,839.04 owed in back taxes to the IRS, according to court documents.
The property has deteriorated since its foreclosure and was appraised at $50,000, the sheriff’s office said.
Each individual post is incorporated separately and responsible for its own costs, Pierce said, so the state organization would not be responsible for the mortgage.
“We don’t have any idea what happened to that particular post. It could have been economical, but we don’t know,” Pierce said. “We don’t want to see any posts close, but sometimes it happens.”
Lagos could not be reached for comment.
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