Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

City preping to demolish houses

It is now only a matter of time before the city of Gurdon will begin the removal of abandoned and neglected properties in the city are removed.

The city now has the teeth we need to remove the properties since the Gurdon City Council approved an ordinance during its meeting on Monday, March 26, to begin the process.

Although the city has been trying to clean neglected properties in town for several years, there has been no way for city officials to take care of those properties which the owners either will not cooperate or are unavailable.

That all changed last month when Southern Development Corp., a financial holding company which owns Elk Horn Bank and is based in Arkadelphia, presented a $25,000 grant to city officials to jump start the process.

The money can be used for hiring someone to do the legwork or to pay legal expenses we might incur, Gurdon Mayor Clayton Franklin said.

Council members asked how long a house would have to be vacant before it is included on the list to be demolished. Franklin said the ordinance does not address whether or not the house is occupied. It deals only with whether or not it the structures are safety or health hazzards.

As a matter of fact, they could be occupied and they still may need to come down, he said.

Franklin noted that one house on the list of more than 60 structures already identified for demolition is occupied. He said the house has no utilities connected to it and that the occupants simply use wood heat in the winter.

The ordinance sets in place a process by which structures will be considered for removal. Since structures have already been identified for removal, the next step is for the council to condemn properties and notify the owners by certified letter.

If the owner cannot be located, the ordinance states that the posting of a notice on the property will suffice as notice.

The owner may come forward and ask the city to remove the property or remove it themselves. If the city does the work it will be done for no less than $500.

In the event that the city is forced to remove the property without the owners consent, the city will then sell the property by public sale to the highest bidder for cash after 10 days notice has been given in the newspaper.

A fine of not less than $250 or more than $500 may be assessed against the owner of any house, building or structure which is deemed to be a nuisance by the city council, the ordinance states.

This, for the first time, gives us the teeth to clean up some of these houses in Gurdon that people have neglected, Franklin said.

Although more than 60 properties have been identified so far, Franklin said there will be more.

Thats probably not all of them, he said. It will take a while. We intend to identify more than 60 structures by the time were through.

A member of the audience asked if the new ordinance will affect the old Gurdon High School campus which has been the topic of debate due to its condition in recent month.

The old school is going, Franklin said. It appears that the old school is the first one were going to have to sue.

The ordinance takes effect in 30 days.