Treating an eyesore not easy
An eyesore in the midst of a community is a major pain in the backside for the neighbors and a huge source of frustration for city officials trying to do something about it.
Take the home at 1043 Central Ave., in the northwest corner of Decatur. Looking at it from its front gives one the sense of it being a structure devoted to the current season.
As you traverse an alley on its north side, the look only becomes worse. And worse.
There is quite a bit of fence that is probably a surprise … a surprise that it’s still standing (leaning) after some of the storms we’ve seen around here.
And, oh, yes, the place has been condemned for maybe as long as two years, by both the city’s building/zoning department and the health department
Neighbors continue to complain and rightfully so. City officials, meanwhile, try to resolve the situation but are stymied by all the legal hoops which must be jumped through to force a resolution … with demolition being the best answer but not likely to happen any time soon.
Building/Zoning Superintendent Curt Witte and assistant Brad Roe have been working on this one for a long time – “We’ve been at this for over a year now,” Roe said at the recent city board of works meeting – involving several owners, a bank or two, and broken vows to clean up the mess.
It keeps changing hands and then we have to start the process all over, Witte said at one point during the meeting. Witte said he has talked with the current owner, Michael Mortorelli of Hobart, and told him to attend the board’s meeting. He didn’t.
It was decided to give Mortorelli 14 days to get the place cleaned up and, if it’s not done, then he will be fined $100 a day. After 30 days, the legal process leading to demolition will begin.
TWO MORE: Two other code enforcement issues were brought to the board of works.
One involved the gas station just north of Shifferly Dodge on 13th St. “There are tons of issues with grass and stuff,” plus a small structure which housed soda pop machines has collapsed, Roe explained.
The station has changed ownership twice since the former Swifty station was closed several years ago. Singh Bros. Oil Inc. of Indianapolis is listed as the current deeded owner.
Singh is being given 14 days to get the collapsed structure removed and the place cleaned up, then it’s $100 a day after that. After 30 days the city will begin to move toward demolition.
Meanwhile, Kylie Harvey appeared before the board for a second time about her home at 804 Schirmeyer St. Some progress on a cleanup was seen, “then it seems like it’s stalled out,” Roe told the board.
Working with the building/zoning board, Harvey explained different ways she can go to bring about a cleanup, which includes removal of a hot tub and moving a shed.
The cleanup is needed now, Witte and Roe said, because two new homes are going up in the area.