A small, blue home sits on North First Street in Iola. Branches from nearby trees wind their way across the lawn, intertwined with the loose boards on the porch. A PROPERTY is placed on the substandard list when it is essentially “totaled” — the value of the home is less than the cost to repair, Jeffries said. THE PROCESS of demolishing a home is not an easy one either, Jeffries said. The city of Iola follows a bidding process through contractors for most of the demolition work, save for the properties that are being developed on following demolition.
According to Shonda Jeffries, Iola’s code enforcement officer, this is one of 152 structures on the “substandard structures” list in Iola. She said the home is owned by a family living in Texas, and they have no plans of renovation. This home is neither condemned, nor fit for living — the plight of many lots caught in limbo in Allen County.
“They are the kind of houses you can drive by and tell,” Jeffries said of the dilapidated structures. The city currently budgets $16,000 a year for the demolition of between three to five houses. From the long list, Jeffries selects which homes will be demolished and then contacts a contractor.
She said many people continue to live in what the city considers “substandard structures.” She leaves those properties alone when deciding which buildings to condemn.
There’s enough vacated structures to deal with as it is.
The substandard structures list also includes garages, sheds and other small buildings.
Assistant City Administrator Corey Schinstock said the council, which chose not to increase budget funds for demolitions during its June 24 meeting, has seen the need for more razing of homes in Iola.
“The council has been very vocal,” Schinstock said. “But, it’s always about money. It’s hard to get the funds to get things done without raising the mill levy.”
Jeffries said deciding which structures should be razed is just the first of many necessary steps taken before a board can be removed.
“It’s a long process to go through condemnation,” she said. “It’s so long and drawn out.”
“Some house values are very low,” she said. Oftentimes, a decaying roof may cost more to repair than the value of the home. With a slow economy, Jeffries said the number of dilapidated homes increases; the less money residents have, the less upkeep is done and the faster the home falls into disrepair.
The city was awarded a Community Development Block Grant, a program funded through the state, to aid in the rehabilitation of run-down homes in the city limits. Over the past three years, 16 homes were rehabilitated through the grant, which allotted for $20,000 per home. For those whose repairs would cost more than $20,000, the owners were given the option to meet the cost at the midpoint.
“We had to walk away from a few homes,” Jeffries said.
She is currently writing reports on three homes to be demolished within city limits, the first of 2013.
Humboldt City Administrator Larry Tucker said the city receives anywhere from 20 to 30 complaints on “nuisance properties” during the course of a year. They do not keep a running list of substandard homes.
He said the block grant Humboldt received in 2010 allowed them to tear down 10 homes, some with volunteer compliance from the owners.
“It’s a problem, but not too serious of a problem,” he said. “We got a headstart on it in 2010.”
He said the homes in Humboldt are not in the same sort of state as some of the homes in Iola. But, he and Jeffries shared in the opinion that is was the out-of-town owners that proved to be a handful — not the locals.
“Some people buy houses thinking it’s an investment,” Jeffries said. “Then it gets out of hand.”
She said the city charges $3,500 to raze a one-story home, and if the property is developed within one year, the cost is reimbursed to the owner.
For those not receiving development, a notice is sent to the owner of the home. They are given the option to hire a contractor for demolition, or the city can do the legwork and then bill the owner.
Then, the de-construction begins.
Tom Highberger, owner of Highberger Construction in Westphalia, has done demolition work through the city in the past. Following the 2007 flood, his crews demolished 85 homes within the city limits.
The cost for razing a property can range anywhere from $2,200 to $4,400, he said, for any common home. His crews, made up of four to five workers, start by tearing down the main walls with an excavator. He said it is important to make sure the walls fall inward, to avoid damage to neighboring properties, much like demolition work with dynamite.
“You sure don’t want to knock another building down,” Highberger said. He recounted a situation where he was demolishing a large building, which had a roof one-half of an inch from another structure. It was a job that took some care.
After the walls are torn down, his men work to fill in the basement. They remove any debris, save for the concrete basement slabs that lie six to seven feet underground. They then work to plug any pipes, such as sewage and water, that run to the home.
The spare debris is taken to the landfill, for a charge, or any usable material, such as rock, is taken to farmers or landscapers. It takes his crews two days to do a “top-notch job” in tearing down a house.
Substandard homes in ‘limbo’
