Fix it up or tear it down

Fix it up or tear it down

Marion gives property owner until June 1 to deal with dilapidated home

news@theeveningtimes.com

Marion has given the bank owners of a dilapidated home on Shiloh until June 1 to decide whether they plan to fix the home up or tear it down, or else the city will proceed with demolition.

Mayor Frank Fogleman signed the condemnation order for 206 Shiloh at the May 22 city council, and told the council that unless the bank acts, the city already has bids to tear it down.

“We have nothing from them,” Fogleman said. “

My personal opinion is I don’t want to wait forever.

But if they are going to demolish it, I would rather have their money tied up in it than have our money tied up.”

The home was hit by a car about three years ago and was then left exposed to the elements, mold and stray animals. The city made several attempts to get the owners to clean up the property. Owner Dewayne Lucas, Sr. and Judy Lucas, waived any objection to the property being condemned.

The property is owned by Bank of Mellon Trust Company, National Association FKA, and New York Trust Company.

An attorney representing the banks told the city council last month that they had a bid to rehabilitate the home and was only waiting to hear back on a bid to demolish the property.

The city advertised for bids to tear the property down to the slab and to leave the driveway, and to tear it down and remove all of the concrete.

Roy Parker was the bidder with a price of $3,000 to tear the home down to the slab, and $3,500 to tear it down and remove the concrete.

The second bid came in at $9,000 for the tear down and $11,500 for the tear down and concrete removal.

“So for $3,500 it gets the slab cleaned out,” Fogleman said. Councilman Cliff Wood asked whether the city needs to put a hard deadline on when they expect an an- SHILOH

Continued from Page 1

swer from the bank.

“How long do you want to give them?” Wood asked.

Fogleman said he believes the home is beyond saving and that they city has waited long enough for any work to be done.

“They’ve had a month,” Fogleman said. “I do think putting a deadline on them is respectful of the neighbors concerns.”

Councilman Kelly O’Neal agreed.

“This has been going on too long,” O’Neal said.

“The neighbors deserve better than this. If they’re not going to do anything, I say we go with it.”

The council instructed City Attorney James “Jimbo” Hale to contact the attorney and give them until June 1 to act.

Wood said the demolition and slab removal will leave a hole on the property and asked Fogleman if the city planned to fill it.

“Are we going to spend a few bucks to fill the hole?”

Wood asked.

O’Neal asked Street Department manager Gordon Floyd if he had any clean fill the city could use.

“Gordon, you’re digging all the time,” O’Neal said.

Floyd said the city just started road work on Patriot Drive and that they could use dirt from that project to fill the hole.

“The dirt coming out of Patriot Drive is pretty good dirt,” Floyd said. “It has a little bit of gravel.”

Fogleman agreed to let Floyd use that fill provided it was relatively free of debris.

“I don’t want fist size chunks of asphalt in it,” Fogleman said.

“I understand,” Floyd said. Fogleman said he will notify Parker that the city has accepted his bid and have Hale pass on the hard deadline to the attorney that the city will move forward with demolition if they have not heard back by June 1.

Ballot Review

Above: The by-precincts, absentee, and early voting totals for the May 22 elections. The Crittenden County Board of Election Commissioners will review all provisional ballots for the 2018 Preferential Primary, School Board Elections and Nonpartisan Judicial Elections on Thursday, May 31, 2018. They will also certify the election at the same meeting. which will be held in the Offices of the Election Commission, located at 116 Center St., in Marion, at the County Office Building adjacent to the Crittenden County Courthouse. The public is invited to attend.

Graphic courtesy of the Crittenden County Election Commission

By Mark Randall