Board of Works revisits two eyesores

Code Enforcement Officer Curt Witte appeared before the Decatur Board of Works this week to deliver updates on a pair of eyesores the city has been dealing with for some time now.

At a recent meeting, the Board of Works had approved a contract with Advanced Demolition Services to bring down a rapidly dilapidating house at 133 N. Eighth Street. The somewhat bad news Witte had for the Board at this meeting was that a preliminary inspection prior to demolition revealed the presence of asbestos in the basement.

That discovery will cost the city an extra $1,300 to remove so instead of the original price of $18,961 to raze the house it is now $20,261 to which the three-member Board of Works readily agreed to undertake. Once the work is done, all costs involved–including fines issued by the city--will be billed to the owner of the house.

Witte noted the house is starting to lean in one direction as its foundation is dissolving and since houses on both sides are less than 10 feet away, an emergency exists. It was not noted at the meeting how long it would take to abate the asbestos problem but demolition work will proceed promptly once it’s done.

Another building that Witte received permission to demolish at the Board of Works meeting under Chapter 9 of the State Building Code is a problem that could easily have been abated over a decade ago.

Witte said the house at 1034 Parkview Drive was eligible for the flood buyout program through the Maumee River Basin Committee work done with the city that obtained funds to purchase many of the flood- affected homes. He told Board of Works members though that the owner of the structure at the time refused the buyout and has since died. There was a USDA mortgage attached to this property and the city had considered getting a court order to demolish the house but that is not necessary now since USDA has wiped it off their books.

The owner of the house now was identified by Witte as Ruben Soto who has emphatically told Witte he has no interest whatsoever in the residence nor do some others that have an equitable interest in it. The house has been condemned and has severe damage to the foundation, sides of the house, and roof making it unfeasible to repair. A timeframe as to when demolition will occur was not revealed.

(Photo by Joe Spaulding) The residence at 1034 Parkview Drive in Decatur whose condemnation signs are posted on the door and window, will soon face a wrecking ball with action taken by the Decatur Board of Works this week. The house was eligible for a flood buyout that saw many houses on Parkview Drive go by the wayside, but the owner refused, did not perform any renovations, and has since died. Those with equitable interest in the property are not interested in it either leaving the mess up to the city.