An out-of-town property owner claims he had no idea how bad things had gotten at a pair of residences near Columbia High School.
Mark Gibson of HLC Forrest LLC spoke about the properties at 906 and 908 Church St. that were recently condemned by the city. Building Inspector Lonnie Stringer and the Board addressed Gibson in a nearly 20-minute discussion during the Oct. 17 aldermen meeting.
The homes — a two-story house and another blue, one-story house — are between the high school and a daycare.
“I bought the properties and sold them to a Mr. Fuller,” Gibson said. “They were in bad health and got way behind and with paying the taxes, the insurance and the note, got no money out of them. I didn’t know the condition of the house until I was sent a picture of it. It was a deplorable mess.”
Gibson said the home was still in the buyer’s name and he couldn’t do much with it.
“It got tied up in court; everybody’s hands were tied,” he said. “We started hauling stuff out. We hauled 30-something loads to the landfill. I sent a guy up to clean it, he saw the yellow tape and thought it was a crime scene. It’s not a crime scene; it was the tape from it being condemned. I gave them some cash and they signed a quitclaim deed back to me. It’s not like a foreclosure; I could get in immediately and start work on it. With the fire tape around it, I’m assuming that I can take it down and do with it what I need to do.”
City Attorney Lawrence Hahn said it was Gibson’s right to go on his property and begin whatever work he deemed necessary.
“This Board is who votes and makes these decisions,” Hahn said. “The question that the Board is going to have is, what are your plans for that property? Because the Board is still sitting here looking at dilapidated properties. It’s a blight in the city and a health hazard. The Board could vote to go ahead and notice a hearing for 30 days and see where it is then. What you need to do is tell the Board what your plans are.”
“I see there’s a daycare next door – I wouldn’t want that mess in front of my children either,” Gibson said. “My plans are to rehab the house and fix it up where it is in decent shape. The carport on the back of it had fallen down, so we tore all that off and hauled it away. Ninety-eight percent of the trash is gone now so we can work on the buildings now.”
Ward 4 Alderman Edward Hough asked about the work being done.
“I agree with you when you said it was deplorable,” he said. “I would use stronger language. The problem we’ve got is that you’re going to be an absentee owner and we drive by these properties every day. We’re tired of it; we’re tired of all this crap right on the main thoroughfares. If something is not done in the immediate future, I’m for condemning them and tearing them down. We’re tired of it and we’re going to take action.”
Gibson said his group has 32 properties in Marion County.
“It’s their home, they own it – or are buying it,” he said.
Hough said that the city was concerned with many properties in the city.
“I don’t care if you’re the poorest person in Marion County, you can be clean,” he said. “We’re tired of it. I would like to see the yard raked, mowed and all of the trash that has been cut up in the yard hauled away.”
Gibson said his crews were working on the properties and he intended to keep them clean. Board members said they appreciated the efforts and would check the properties again before future meetings.
The Board also discussed a variety of properties including taking no action on properties at 933 West Ave., and 410 Browns Ave., due to changes in ownership. The Board also sent notices to property owners at Chinaberry, 1201 N. Park Ave., 616 Alberta St., 222 Dewey St. and 312 E. Rankin St. for cleaning and mowing.
The Board also adopted the 2015 building code standards for the city to abide by in future property rulings.
The Columbia Board of Aldermen next meets in regular session at 4 p.m. on Nov. 7 at City Hall.
