Article by Andrea Bruner, White River Now
Four years ago, the Batesville City Council condemned a group of properties due to poor conditions. Little to no progress was made, and now the properties have been condemned a second time.
On Tuesday night, Mayor Rick Elumbaugh told the council the properties in question are as follows:
- 467 River St., 441 River St., and 577 Bayou St., all owned by Sharon Sanders;
- 715 N. Central Ave., owned by Osneldi Figueroa;
- 1065 E. Boswell St., owned by Shonda King;
- 250 Hawkins St., owned by Mack Caldwell;
- 2230 Neeley St., owned by the late Bobbie Hall;
- 1465 Edith St., owned by Magdaleno Rodriguez;
- 431 River St., owned by Diana Baca Islas.
Elumbaugh opened the public hearing for condemnation by asking Code Enforcement Officer Chad McClure to give some background on each of the properties, telling the audience there would be time for comments before the council voted on a resolution of condemnation.
McClure said that even if the council approves a resolution to condemn a property, there is still additional time to work on or abate it—the city does not immediately demo a structure. He said the council takes seriously the aesthetics of the neighborhoods, as well as health and safety.
“Living in the city of Batesville, there are standards, subdivision codes, building codes, fire codes, etc.,” McClure said.
He read a partial definition in the city code stating it is unlawful for anyone to keep or maintain a structure inside city limits constituting a nuisance.
City codes also consider a structure hazardous if major components (doors, windows, walls, or roof) are missing or left unlocked or unattended.
“We were here almost four years ago for the exact same condemnation, and here we are again,” McClure said. “Not only have things not been done, but some are worse than they were four years ago.”
Elumbaugh said in past situations, the council has proceeded with condemnation and then monitored a property owner’s progress.
“I know four years is a long time,” he said, but noted that Covid was a factor last time and said, “We will stay on top of these this time.”
If no or insufficient progress is made, Elumbaugh said the city will notify the owner that the building must be torn down. If the owner chooses not to, the city can raze the structure and place a lien on the property based on the city’s manpower and equipment hours.
“But that’s not going to be next week or anything – we’re going to be respectful enough to give our citizens a chance to step up and do the right thing,” Elumbaugh said.
River and Bayou Street properties
Bill Sanders from Rapid City, South Dakota, said he became aware of this issue about four weeks ago and came in the previous weekend to start cleanup. He said he had started the process of moving these properties out of his mother’s name into a family trust.
Image: Google Earth
He said he had received quotes on renovating the Bayou Street home (above), where some projects have already started on the inside. This will either become a rental or the primary home for this other, Sanders said.
Sanders also said a contractor had been paid to renovate the home but was not doing the work he was paid for. The contractor was subsequently fired, and a lawsuit was filed over it.
Image: White River Now
The house at 441 River St. (above) is made of rock, so he’s getting quotes on tearing it down and renovating/finishing the inside.
Image: White River Now
The house on the corner at 467 River St. (above) will be torn down, Sanders said.
He presented photos of all three sites to show the progress made thus far.
“We would appreciate a little consideration and time to get those done; I apologize for the state that they’re in,” Sanders said.
Alderman Robb Roberts asked what the next step would be, and McClure said the city ordinance does not specify how much time the city gives a property owner to repair or raze a structure, but the council does need to take into consideration whether there is an immediate danger of the site falling in or present a health/safety risk to the public.
If the structure is secure and not otherwise dangerous or hazardous, then the council may choose to allow additional time to have the owner take care of things.
“We don’t want an empty house – we want it habitable, occupied,” McClure said. “We work with property owners on a case-by-case basis.”
715 N. Central
McClure said this property (below) – which is the former site of Crowell’s Cleaners – is “much more concerning” due to structural deficiencies.
Image: Google Earth
Alderwoman Brittany Bennett noted the clutter in the front of the building, giving it a “junky” appearance, and McClure said there is even a car inside the building.
Through a translator, the owner, Figueroa, said he recently bought this building and is slowly starting to work on it. He said part of the ceiling had fallen, and he tore it down further to repair an air vent.
Mayor Rick Elumbaugh asked Figueroa about his timeline, and he said five months. He presented a tentative sketch of his plans for the structure, which will eventually be an auto body shop.
McClure said even before Figueroa bought the property, this building came on his and the Batesville Fire Department’s radar because there was apparently a homeless person living inside who had started a fire there.
“With a follow-up inspection, we realized the shape it was in,” McClure said.
He said the city wants to make sure the building is secure and that people cannot enter, and Figueroa said people could get in through a hole in the roof.
McClure reminded the council that this is a commercially zoned property, so building and fire codes differ from residential codes. If the council agrees to give additional time on this property, repairs must be done by a licensed contractor, and Figueroa said he did not have a problem with that.
1065 E. Boswell St.
McClure said this property (below), like the others, was discussed four years ago, “and we’ve continued to receive complaints” about the “neglect of the structure.”
Image: White River Now
The front porch is sagging, and brush and an overextending tree have grown into the neighbor’s yard.
King said she had done some cleanup earlier that day, but McClure said one concern with vacant properties is trespassers.
“And that’s a concern of the neighborhood as well, with having a property that’s not occupied,” he said.
Elumbaugh said a real estate agent called him earlier that day, saying they planned to list the property for sale.
King, who said she has owned the property for about five years, said she would like another couple of months to clean and sell the house.
250 Hawkins St.
McClure said this was also considered for condemnation four years ago.
“There are broken windows – I can’t see that anything’s been done in four years. … I know we’ve had complaints that the yard has been grown up in the summer,” McClure said.
Image: White River Now
Caldwell said the house (above) has also been a target for thieves, but he and his son would like to renovate it.
Caldwell, who has owned the house for more than 30 years, said he did not have a timeframe or estimate for refurbishing but said they had repaired floors in some of the rooms, as well as the ceiling and walls.
He said the house needs a new roof, and multiple trees have fallen on the property.
“It looks real bad,” Caldwell admitted. “You don’t live in it every day – you kind of forget about it.”
2230 Neeley St.
McClure said someone had been living at this address, but that person had died some time ago.
He said there is an apparently inoperable vehicle in front, the yard is overgrown, and the carport ceiling/roof is falling in.
Image: White River Now
Hall’s daughter, Janet Crawford, said she had started cleaning up the front yard, but there are some trees that she will need a tree contractor to remove or trim.
She said the car in the yard was hers and that she had contacted someone to remove it, but the car under the carport belonged to her late mother. She has an appointment with a probate attorney to discuss whether she can have that car towed.
Crawford said they have someone to work on the carport starting the following week, but he works another job, so it will be on his days off.
She also said she would have someone check on the roof to see if it needs to be repaired or replaced.
Crawford said she could not turn on the water service yet because the house was not in her name.
1465 Edith St.
This house had caught fire and left about half the embers charred/burned. Since the owner had received the notice of condemnation, they had torn down the burned portion to the slab.
Image: White River Now
Before the meeting, Rodriguez had told McClure they would not able to attend Tuesday’s council meeting due to work but asked for more time.
431 River St.
McClure said, unlike the others, this was the first time this house had been before the council for condemnation.
There are two houses side by side, but only one is up for condemnation. “The other looked, to me, to be in satisfactory condition,” he said.
Image: White River Now
“This one (above) is boarded up, vacant, not under repair,” McClure said.
Islas said her father works on houses and had planned to redo the windows and doors but had stopped renovations. She asked for three to four months to get the work done.
McClure asked if the house would be habitable if doors and windows were replaced, and Islas said no. It would take more work, and the house would still be vacant at that time, although the electricity was on to allow her dad to do his work.
At that point, Elumbaugh closed the public hearing, and the council heard the resolutions individually, by title only (rather than read the entire resolution) for condemnation.
The council approved all of the resolutions formally condemning the properties.
In other business Tuesday night:
— The council held an executive session to consider appointments.
Cord Davidson was reappointed to the Public Facilities Board, and Grant Goodwin was reappointed to the Airport Commission; both are five-year terms.
— Police Chief John Scarbrough said the number of monthly calls doubled in October, but he did not know why, although there were six less arrests and one less incident report.
He said the police department did quite a bit of training, such as field training, peer counseling, and CIT (Crisis Intervention Training), with 90 percent of the department being certified last month in CIT. This is a 40-hour course, so several people put in extra hours to get this done. He also said officers have been training on the new firearms that were ordered, with each officer shooting some 500 rounds each over two days.
As for the computers in the patrol units, Scarbrough said there are some bugs between the officers writing e-tickets and having them submitted to district court and being identified as Batesville Police Department. He said this is a problem on the state’s end, but the state is aware of it.
Elumbaugh asked about the fluorescent safety vests for officers directing traffic (such as when a stoplight goes out), and Scarbrough said they are looking for something that will not cover the body cameras but is still reflective.
— Public Works Engineer Damon Johnson reported on several projects ongoing throughout the city.
One is the new Riverside Park addition, where Johnson said the city continues to fine-tune and is nearing what he terms “the schematic version” that will depict where new trees/landscaping and other components will go
“The goal is by early December, the plan will be in a stage where they can dive in and do the final detail designs,” Johnson said. “We will do another pricing exercise then to ensure that we are within the budget. … We started with what we wanted, and then we were $15 million out of our budget. Then we worked to get what is still a great product but within our $25 million budget. So we’re excited about that, and I think the community will be very happy once we get that completed and start construction.”
He said construction on that project should begin early next year.
The Main Street project – the one lane of the street converted to a bicycle lane – is nearly complete, Johnson said. “They’ve just got to do the punch list and find or clean up some things, but all the work is essentially done.”
The island at the corner of Sixth and Main “that protrudes into the street” is slated to get some reflective signage.
“We realize that right now it’s invisible almost if you’re not paying close attention,” Johnson said.
“There is an AT&T communication box in that island, which is one reason it’s as far out as it is,” but he added, “There is more than a lane width to the edge of the curb on the other side of the street. It’s just more to drive around than what drivers are generally used to.”
He suggested planting shrubbery to increase the island’s visual awareness.
The parks department is converting the lights to a softer tone than the bright white. “I think the citizens will find that more appealing.”
Meanwhile, the sanitation department is running two trucks as much as possible to pick up Class 4 garbage.
“We can’t get it picked up fast enough right now,” he said. “I don’t know if (citizens) are doing fall cleaning instead of spring cleaning or what, but we are seeing furniture, mattresses, and lots of stuff being cleaned out of people’s houses and piled up at the curb. It is a service we do provide. When you drive around town and see it, be aware that we see it, we’re running routes, we’re trying to get it picked up. They essentially run the same routes as the garbage routes, so whatever day your garbage is picked up, they are going to pick up Class 4 and leaves. If they don’t complete the route, they’ll pick up where they left off the week before. There’s so much volume right now; that’s how they have to do it; they can’t just bounce around town.”
Johnson said the leaf truck the city purchased last year is having some problems with water getting into the transmission, but it is a manufacturing error, and the truck is under warranty. The transmission will be replaced, and he hopes that will happen within the next few weeks.
“Right now, we just have the leaf trailer picking up leaves that we’ve had for a while,” he said. “So the leaves will get behind until we get our leaf truck back in service, and (after that point) it will make a huge dent quickly.”
Johnson also gave an update on the water treatment plant, noting there is a sewer line inside the plant that will need to be relocated and that work should start “very soon.”
Following that, workers will start “mass excavation” on a new clear well, but he anticipates major mobilization and construction will begin after the lighting display is taken down.
Johnson said there have been some fluctuations in water pressure, and upon further investigation, city workers have found valves and valve controls in the existing water treatment plant that had “some pretty major problems.”
“We’ve done some Band-Aid repairs, as I call it, and we’re ordering parts on equipment that’s 65 years old, so it’s not been easy,” he continued. “We’re spending more money than we want to on a plant that we’re going to retire, but we’ve got to keep water in the system and keep the system running appropriately.”
He said the city has spent $300,000 in maintenance this year alone on just the water treatment plant on “unusual repair items.”
“We’re really starting to feel the age of the plant right now,” he said.
Johnson noted that Nick Baxter, Batesville Utility office manager, is retiring at the end of this year, and the city has been conducting interviews.
Johnson said they are also trying to get a sewer rehab project off the ground, which will probably happen in March. Another facet of the project will involve crossing East Main Street with water and sewer for the industrial site. This work will probably start early next year.
For the sewer rehab, he said there will be some “in situ” where a fiberglass line will be installed inside an existing line. “We don’t have to dig up the whole world to do that. You do lose a little bit of capacity, but when our lines are big enough, then we can do that, and it doesn’t harm the system.”
— Under the mayor’s comments portion of the agenda, Elumbaugh set a budget meeting at 5:30 p.m. on Dec. 10, following up with the regular council meeting on Dec. 17, also at 5:30.
— Alderman Fred Krug said he had verified numbers with City Clerk Denise Johnston, and the city does have funds available to provide incentive pay (formerly known as end-of-year bonuses) to employees.
He made a motion to provide the same amounts as last year: Full-time employees with 1,000 or more hours, $1,500; full-time employees with 500-999 hours, $750; full-time with 100-499 hours, $375; permanent part-time employees with 1,000 hours, $750; permanent part-time employees with 500-999 ours, $375; and permanent part-time employees with 100-499 hours, $187.50.
The motion passed.
Hours will be tabulated from Jan. 1, 2024, to Nov. 1, 2024. Employees will receive their checks on Nov. 27.
— During council comments, Alderman Chris Poole mentioned a business owner on Main Street had expressed concerns that people were parking in the handicapped parking spaces (without appropriate stickers/tags/placards) on the lower end of Main Street and asked the police department to “keep an eye on that.”
There were no other citizens’ comments. All council members were present.
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