Council to mull demolition

Published 9:08 pm Friday, October 24, 2014

CONDEMNED? Washington’s City Council, during its meeting Monday, is slated to consider condemning this building and awarding a contract to demolish it.

CONDEMNED? Washington’s City Council, during its meeting Monday, is slated to consider condemning this building and awarding a contract to demolish it.

During its meeting Monday, Washington’s City Council is scheduled to consider condemning a house at 223 E. Third St. and awarding a contract to demolish it.

Allen Pittman, a senior building official with the city, determined the building is unfit for human habitation and its liability to fire. Pittman found the dwelling has bad walls, overloaded floors, defective construction, unsafe wiring and inadequate means of egress.

Pittman’s findings were sent to James Baker, trustee for Jamie Baker. The notice also included information about a hearing on the matter set for July 22. After the hearing was conducted, an order to demolish the building was issued that same day.

The property was condemned under the city’s demolition-by-neglect ordinance.

If the city hires an entity to demolish the dwelling, the cost of that demolition “shall constitute a lien against the subject property and shall also constitute a lien on any other real property of the owner of the subject property located within the City limits or within one mile thereof except the owner’s primary residence.” That means the lien against the property must be satisfied before the property can be sold or transferred to a new owner.

The city initiated similar proceedings against the structure at 312 Water St., but that demolition order was rescinded to give people a chance to obtain the house and save it.

The demolition-by-neglect ordinance is used by the city to keep historically and/or architecturally significant properties from deteriorating to the point they cannot be saved by rehabilitation measures.

Dudley Landscaping and Tree Service submitted the low bid of $3,800 to demolish the building. Other bids came in at $4,500 (Tyco Land Developing) and $5,500 (St. Clair Trucking).

The council meets at 5:30 p.m. Monday in the Council Chambers in the Municipal Building, 102 E. Second St. To view the council’s agenda for a specific meeting, visit the city’s web­site at www.washingtonnc.gov, click “Government” then “City Council” heading, then click “Meeting Agendas” on the menu to the right. Then click on the date for the appropriate agenda.

 

About Mike Voss

Mike Voss is the contributing editor at the Washington Daily News. He has a daughter and four grandchildren. Except for nearly six years he worked at the Free Lance-Star in Fredericksburg, Va., in the early to mid-1990s, he has been at the Daily News since April 1986.
Journalism awards:
• Pulitzer Prize for Meritorious Public Service, 1990.
• Society of Professional Journalists: Sigma Delta Chi Award, Bronze Medallion.
• Associated Press Managing Editors’ Public Service Award.
• Investigative Reporters & Editors’ Award.
• North Carolina Press Association, First Place, Public Service Award, 1989.
• North Carolina Press Association, Second Place, Investigative Reporting, 1990.
All those were for the articles he and Betty Gray wrote about the city’s contaminated water system in 1989-1990.
• North Carolina Press Association, First Place, Investigative Reporting, 1991.
• North Carolina Press Association, Third Place, General News Reporting, 2005.
• North Carolina Press Association, Second Place, Lighter Columns, 2006.
Recently learned he will receive another award.
• North Carolina Press Association, First Place, Lighter Columns, 2010.
4. Lectured at or served on seminar panels at journalism schools at UNC-Chapel Hill, University of Maryland, Columbia University, Mary Washington University and Francis Marion University.

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