Council Decides On Rehab Contract

LINCOLN — After some discussion, Lincoln City Council in a special meeting last week decided to give the property owner of Lincoln Motel Apartments more time to make improvements to the development.

The council asked City Attorney Steve Zega to work out a rehabilitation contract with owner Ignacio Mata and his attorney, Tina AdcockThomas of Bentonville.

Mayor Doug Hutchens said he wants the contract to include a timeline detailing when the work would be completed.

Zega said he would try to have a formal contract prepared for the council’s Aug. 20 meeting.

Council members have discussed the condition of the property for several months, based on three inspections by the Washington County Fire Marshal’s office and an inspection by Jeff Hutcheson, city building inspector.

The council’s July 9 special meeting agenda included a resolution to declare Lincoln Motel Apartments

a public nuisance, to condemn the structures and give the property owners a period of time to abate the property.

According to the proposed resolution, Lincoln Motel Apartments includes units at 408, 410, 412, 414, 416, 420 and 422 W. Pridemore and 503, 507, 509 and 511 Sugar Hill Road. The resolution declared the buildings as “run down, dilapidated, unsafe, unsightly, dangerous, obnoxious, unsanitary, a fire hazard, and a menace to abutting properties.”

It gave the owner 30 days to make repairs or raze the property.

Zega’s recommendation at the beginning of the meeting was to avoid condemnation if possible because of the cost to the city and because the current tenants would have to find a place to go.

Hutchens wondered how ongoing repairs would affect those living in the apartments and Hutcheson said it would be possible.

“It’s like a remodel,” Hutcheson said. “It’s unhandy. If you’re willing to do it and the residents are willing to cooperate with you, I’d say get after it.”

Hutcheson, who inspected the property April 23, said his main concerns were about safety because of exposed electrical wires on the outside. Hutcheson recently re-inspected the apartments and said significant work has been completed in those areas.

Hutcheson added that 75 percent of the units are “fairly safe” from the exterior. On the inside, he recommended Mata make some changes for safety and he has agreed to do those, according to Hutcheson.

Council member Terry Bryson said the city does not want to condemn any property but also does not want to have another situation like the Town House Apartments, a two-story dilapidated complex that was demolished by the city last year because of multiple violations. The council spent most of 2018 dealing with the Town House Apartments.

“I’ll support a rehab agreement with a timeline,” Bryson said. “We have to look out for the safety of those people.”

After the meeting, Mata said he has finished almost all the electrical work required and made improvements and repairs that were not required. He said no one would have to move out during the work.

His attorney said he would be able to finish all the work within a timeline. She did not have a total on how much money he has spent so far on repairs but said it has been “thousands of dollars.”

Mata said the only person who complained about his property was the manager and this complaint was not made to him but to the city. Mata said he was not aware of the problems until he was contacted by the city. The manager is no longer with him, he said.

According to Belinda Beasley, deputy city clerk, Mata has electrical permits for all the buildings and a re-roofing permit for one building with three units.