By DAVE SCHULTZ
The Bluffton Board of Public Works and Safety took action on two properties cited for excess junk and accepted the recommendation of a special city attorney regarding a third site during the board’s meeting Tuesday afternoon.
Also, if no progress is made on repairing a house on Lancaster Street to the city’s satisfaction, the board will take action to tear it down.
Karen Nash, who is heading up the city’s Building Department for now, brought two properties to the board after she had cited them for violation of the city’s junk ordinance. They are at 317 E. Washington St. and 304 N. Marion St.
Nash referred to the back yard of the Washington Street site as “Couch Mountain” in an email to the board, and the three board members — Mayor John Whicker, Scott Mentzer, and Roger Thornton — agreed with her citation of the property as being in violation of the city’s junk ordinance. Several old couches and mattresses are piled at the site and a car — which apparently does not run — has not had a new license plate since 2017.
The Marion Street property has junk on its porch and a trailer full of more junk that “needs to be taken care of,” Nash told the board.
The board will seek to have both properties cleaned up — if not by the owner or resident, then by a company hired by the city. The cost of the cleanup will be added to the tax bill for the property.
Meanwhile, the property at 427 W. Lancaster St. remains under city scrutiny and Adrian L. Halverstadt III of Huntington will advise the city on what actions it should take going forward.
The property has been surrounded by junk and the Board of Works wants to force its cleanup. City Attorney Tony Crowell, however, has recused himself from the case because the owner of 427 W. Lancaster St. is a client of his law firm.
Therefore, Halverstadt — a member of the HRG law firm in Huntington — will work with the city if legal expertise is needed going forward. Municipal law is one of Halverstadt’s areas of practice.
The house at 827 W. Lancaster was the subject of a lengthy conversation on May 24 as its owner, Cesar Flores, told the board he would present plans to repair the structure at Tuesday’s meeting of the Board of Works. However, Flores — who lives in California — was not present at the meeting and sent along a proposed timeline for the building’s repair that underwhelmed the board members.
Thornton said he was at the point where he wanted the city to prepare to take it down and if Flores presents a workable plan to the board, they’d consider granting him time to get the job done.
The timeline Flores sent to the board said the repair work could be done within four months. Other than a project manager, Julio Flores, the plan presented by Cesar Flores offered no names of contractors to get the work done.
The board said, if no progress is made on repairing the building, the city should go ahead with demolition. If Flores changes his mind and wants to do the demolition himself, the board said it would be agreeable to that.
daves@news-banner.com
