Properties ordered repaired or razed
Staff writer
Hillsboro City Council members voted Tuesday to order two nuisance properties repaired or razed.
A house at 401 S. Ash St. owned by Wilbert J. Bartel has accumulations of dead trees, dead limbs, junk, trash, metal, wood, concrete blocks, and other refuse; overgrown vegetation, unmowed areas, and untrimmed brush and saplings, including small trees; and a dilapidated, unsafe, and unsightly fence.
Code inspector Ben Steketee told council members the owner was officially notified in July that the property was in violation.
“Some things have been moved around, but no improvements have been made,” he said.
Council members gave the owner until Dec. 3 to make the property safe and secure or the city will repair or raze it and assign the costs to the owner.
Council members passed an identical resolution for property at 310 N. Washington St.
The property is owned by Dennis Gora, who also owned a dilapidated downtown building the city had to demolish a few years ago.
Steketee said the city had removed a tree from the property because it was leaning over a neighboring property.
Mayor Lou Thurston asked whether the property had a basement. Steketee said it did not.
Thurston said he thought that not having a basement would mitigate the cost of razing the property.
“There’s still 30 days, so if they want to, they have time to work on that,” Steketee said.
In other business Tuesday, administrator Matt Stiles told council members that a demolition derby sponsored Oct. 25 by the fair board caused so much damage to the arena and nearby areas of the fairgrounds that he recommended the city bill the board for the cost of needed repairs and work out a shared-use agreement to define maintenance responsibilities and expectations.
“This was very frustrating because they didn’t even tell us it was happening,” Stiles said.
On another matter, Thurston told council members that the city would need to decide whether to eliminate recycling or pay a higher fee at the county transfer station.
About two-thirds of Hillsboro residents recycle, averaging 20 tons of materials a month, Thurston said. The city pays $82 a ton for recycling.
The county, discussing putting the transfer station into private operation, wants to raise the fees.
Thurston plans to talk to commissioners but wants to hear from city residents first about whether they want to pay more or eliminate recycling.
“The minute we walk away from our recycling, we’re never going to hear the end of it,” Thurston said. “This is just the dollars and cents part. This is not the ‘being a good steward’ part.”