Though it was made clear Thursday that the City of Warsaw Board of Public Works and Safety wasn’t setting a precedent, it did forgive debt of almost $500 and release the lien on a property at 324 N. West St. scheduled for demolition. Mary Lou Plummer, Wastewater Payment Office, said Alan Hoyt provided a letter he wrote in reference to the house on West Street. The letter indicates Hoyt is the manager with HP Home Rescue, part of a nationwide group involved in residential redevelopment. It states Hoyt currently is involved in the “first of what will be many projects in our community” – the “severely distressed” home at 324 N. West St. At Thursday’s meeting, Hoyt told the board the city has determined the home needs to be demolished and he’s been working with the City Planning Department. “We should be tearing that down in a few weeks here and building (a new house),” Hoyt said. The current home was built in 1910, and Hoyt said the new one will have a “feel for the caricature of the old, but yet all the amenities and the open floor plan of what you want in a house today.” On Dec. 29, 2012, Hoyt said owner Harold Van Dyke died and made no provisions about the house. His son did not want anything to do with the property and shut off the water, electricity and gas, but that was it for three years. The sewage was still billed. “I am just asking if there’s a way you would consider contributing to beautifying our town by not charging those fees,” Hoyt said. The lien on the property is for unpaid sewage bills totaling $342.77 and there is a current charge of $152.88, for an overall amount due of $495.65. “In the ordinance, we continue to bill whether anyone’s living there or not,” Mary Lou Plummer, Wastewater Payment Office, explained to board member Jeff Grose about the current charge. City Planner Jeremy Skinner said, “We are currently in the process of seeking demolition on the property. Mr. Van Dyke could have potentially inherited the property from his father as the remaining closest living heir. He has taken the position that it is not his property and doesn’t want anything to do with it, even though, obviously, it’s incurring taxes and sewer and so forth. So the city’s position at this point is to proceed with demolition.” Skinner said he assumes Hoyt is working with Van Dyke on the property, though he didn’t have anything in writing regarding that. “Our position at this point simply is we just want the property demolished. It’s been vacant, it’s run down, it’s not rehabable as a structure in our opinion, so we’re seeking demolition,” Skinner reiterated. As for the sanitary sewer, Skinner said the city’s system is built on people paying their sewer bills per unit. In the past, the city has given variances from that based on whether or not the structure was inhabitable, but Skinner said he doesn’t know that the city’s ever done that for property that was abandoned. Skinner said in his opinion, this case was not a “reasonable” one to forgive debt on. Utility Manager Brian Davison agreed with Skinner, saying this situation was different from past cases where sewer debt was forgiven. Skinner said the home sat there for three years and deteriorated, so the property owners “brought this on themselves” by abandoning it – and it wasn’t a case of miscommunication or misunderstanding. Hoyt said the property already was in his name and attorney Tammy Keirn did all the paperwork to take care of that. “I already have a demolition permit, so I am covering that for the City of Warsaw,” Hoyt said. Grose said, “In each situation, in the past, I can not speak for the mayor, but the meetings I’ve been on this board, we try to take these situations in consideration and work with people who rehab, redevelop, beautify the city. It appears that’s what you’re wanting to do, which is very encouraging.” He said the property hasn’t been used for awhile, but the bills are still rolling in, and the city is going to demolish the residence. Grose said he would not have a problem forgiving the debt and lifting the lien because of Hoyt’s intent with it. The mayor was absent from Thursday’s meeting. City engineer James Emans reminded the board that, “The user fees aren’t just for the treatment coming from the flow. It’s there to maintain the structure so that we have treatment capabilities when a home is built. Or rebuilt. So that it’s there. It’s maintenance fees we generate as a city to maintain our infrastructure. So as you waive these fees, just be aware of that, that you’re waiving income that makes available the collection system and the treatment system for when another home is built there that will have that system to use.” Grose said he appreciated Emans’ comments but he was “very aware of that.” City attorney Mike Valentine added, “Along those lines, it’s the cost of doing business. If I go out and buy a house, I’m looking to see what liens are against it, and that’s the cost of doing business.” Board member George Clemens agreed they could forgive the debt, but it should be tied in somehow to Hoyt paying for the demolition and rebuilding a new structure. “If $495 stops this deal, there’s a problem to the whole thing,” Valentine said. Grose said as an elected official, his intent is that “I want people living in homes that are habitable. I do not want us in the demolition business. I do not want us in the people aren’t paying their bills because no one is living there. I want progressive, active attempts to clean up, maintain and then clean up our neighborhoods.” He said the $495 cost to the city was less than if it had to demolish the property or if it let the property just sit there for years. Plummer asked that if the board waived the debt, that Hoyt pay the release fees of $12 per lien with the county because otherwise the city would have to pay that fee. Hoyt said he would be willing to do that. Clemens told Hoyt if he’s going to continue to do this, the city would be watching to see that he demolished the property and put a new structure there, which would be better for the city’s tax base. Grose said in the future, if Hoyt took on another property, there would be no guarantees that the board would waive any other fees. “This doesn’t serve as a precedent,” Valentine said. Grose made a motion to waive the $495.65, with Hoyt to pay the fees to release the liens. The motion was approved.
