City closer to removal of buildings

House ordered demolished; complex’s fate still uncertain

FORT SMITH — The city has made progress on removing two dilapidated structures that raised safety concerns for neighborhood residents.

City directors unanimously approved Tuesday ordering the owners of the house at 7901 Joseph St. to demolish the property, or authorizing City Administrator Carl Geffken to have it demolished.

Jimmie Deer, director of Building Services, explained in a memo to Geffken the structure has been damaged and deteriorated to a condition the Building Safety Division has declared unsafe. He said the site has been detrimental to the public welfare and in violation of city ordinances for several years now.

“The owner is in a nursing home. The brother has come and gone on the place, and we have actually had him in court 11 times trying to get him to do something with the structure,” Deer told the directors. “It’s gotten to the point where the condition of the structure kept deteriorating, the neighborhood had a concern with it, people coming and going. So the judge finally gave us approval to access the structure, to come in and really look at the damage of it.”

Deer said there are $5,167 in cleanup liens for the property awaiting payment and demolishing the house is expected to cost $4,000 to $5,000. He said the demolition cost will be added to the lien on the property until the owners pay it or the site goes to auction.

“I think this is an example of where as the city, we’ve tried for a long time to be compassionate and work with the property owner or owners who are responsible to try to find a solution,” said Ward 1 Director Jarred Rego. “I admire that’s the way that you and your department try to handle these things. There’s other properties around town where we could say the same thing. There comes a time and place where we have to enforce the laws in our books.”

The directors also heard an update on a 4.7-acre, multiunit apartment complex at 3600 Kinkead Ave., another dilapidated structure the city is attempting to fix or remove.

Geffken said the former owner of the complex promised to repair the structure but hasn’t. He said the owner failed to appear in court, leading to a warrant for his arrest that would be difficult to serve

as he resides outside Arkansas. Geffken said the city has worked with potential buyers for the property, but to no avail.

“In March, our Neighborhood Services Department secured an order of entry by a local judge to enter and inspect the property for the purpose of securing a company to clean the site and fill in the stagnant pools,” Geffken said. “This is done when the city has exhausted all attempts to work with the property owner to clean and abate their property. It’s the first step in the city’s neighborhood code enforcement process when a property is not maintained. While the city was working on that, the mortgage or note holder, Copper River Funding, foreclosed on the property. The city is working with Copper River Funding to secure a potentially new property owner that will rebuild and renovate the property.”

Geffken said if the site remains in its current state, whether or not the property is sold, the city will proceed with the demolition process. He said the city has the ordinance prepared, however Copper River Funding has requested the city wait while they work through the foreclosure and sale process.

Geffken said the structures aren’t examples of the city putting a heavier foot down on dilapidated structures, but continuing the process to keep structures in Fort Smith up to code and safe.