Huntingburg agrees to accept ownership of dilapidated home

With the homeowners unable to afford the repairs to a rental property, the Huntingburg Board of Public Works agreed to accept ownership to have it demolished.

The decision was approved as a way to cut the costs associated with the legal proceedings the city would have to go through to condemn the home. According to city attorney Phil Schneider, those fees could have amounted to a couple thousand dollars.

City officials became involved with the home at 804 East Ninth Street in January of 2014 due to a large section of foam insulation board being exposed on the front of the house. They contacted owners Roger and Marsha Stutzman and during a further inspection of the home found the rear portion in disrepair as well. The roof was caving in over an attached utility room and the siding was in disrepair and windows had been boarded over.

The Stutsmans used the home as a rental property and it was occupied at the time. It has since been vacated and has stood empty for at least a year.

According to Schneider and Mayor Denny Spinner, the Stutsmans have been very cooperative with the city to work on solutions to fix the home. As the problem was further investigated, the costs associated with repairing the home became too much for the Stutsmans to take on.

“The landowners have acknowledged the home is not safe to live in,” Schneider said. “They want to cooperate. They don’t want to add to the blight in the neighborhood but they don’t have the money to demolish.”

Mayor Spinner told the board that regardless of the board’s decision on accepting the property, the city would incur some costs to demolish the building.

Board member Roger Cox asked if they would be setting a precedent by accepting ownership of the home. Schneider explained that the board would still consider each such case on its individual merit regardless of the decision on this home. “You don’t have to accept this property,” he added. “You aren’t bound to accept any property.”

With the view that the city would incur costs regardless of the decision, the board unanimously agreed to accept the property if it has a clear title.

The next steps will be to request bids from interested companies to demolish the home and clear the property. They estimate the cost will be between $6,000 and $8,000. That cost will be paid through the city’s unsafe building account which is funded through the riverboat gambling money the city receives annually.

After the property is cleared, the city can sell it to an interested party.