Photo: Mountain Home’s City Council has moved forward to file suit against the owners of the former location of Mountain Home Livestock, Inc. at 502 West Wade Street.
The Mountain Home City Council approved moving forward to file a suit of condemnation against one property in the city, heard the first reading on an another and allowed a third to be dropped from the list Thursday night.
The city has been cracking down on what it defines as nuisance properties. Arkansas law allows cities to remove or raze any buildings becoming dilapidated, unsightly, unsafe, unsanitary, obnoxious or detrimental to the public welfare.
The council gave its approval for City Attorney Roger Morgan to file a suit against the owners of the former Mountain Home Livestock Auction, located at 502 West Wade Street. Mountain Home Mayor Hillrey Adams told the council his office and Morgan’s were finally contacted by the property owners, after the city made multiple attempts to contact them.
The city also learned Mountain Home Livestock Auction, Inc., no longer existed as a corporation. The mayor told the council one of the property owners said they had planned to tear down the structure, but Adams says it appears the property is being disregarded. He told the council the property owners were running three years behind on paying their property taxes and were consistently paying the taxes late.
The council voted to approve an ordinance allowing Morgan to move forward with the condemnation proceedings in circuit court.
While only one property was dealt with directly, the city heard from Jamie Mann, who owns the former Circle A Mobile Home Park, located at 1207 Rossi Road.
Mann addressed the council with his concerns about his property being up for condemnation. While admitting the remaining structures on the property are unlivable, Mann says he feels this is not the time for the city to force action by property owners. The owner of multiple small businesses, Mann says owners like him are being stretched thin during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mann pointed out he keeps the property’s lawn maintenance up-to-date and has removed many of the dilapidated trailers the park once housed. He says he has no renters left in the park. Mann was also concerned he had not been notified his property was going to appear on the city’s agenda for the meeting, until the council’s agenda was announced to the news media.
Several members of the council expressed their concern that owners of nuisance properties were not directly contacted when their property was added to the meeting agenda. After discussing what could possibly be done, Morgan told the council it would be “opening Pandora’s Box” to set any formal policy on notifying the owners.
Morgan says the owners have been contacted on multiple occasions, which is one of the factors leading to the properties ending up in court. Adams told the council, “You don’t want to send them certified mail. When they see that, they won’t come pick it up. You should see the stack of certified mail that gets returned to us.”
Mann says he does not feel he should have to complete demolition of the structures on the city’s timetable and property owners should be able to make the decision on their own. He also pointed out his property is adjacent to the abandoned NABORS Sanitation office, which is now in disrepair and overgrown with vegetation. Adams told Mann the NABORS’ receiver would be getting his notification of the city’s intent to address the property in the next few weeks.
When questioned on when any demolition work had been done on the property, Mann admitted it had been some time. Council member Jim Bodenhamer encouraged Mann to come up with a plan, something he could bring to the council to show how the property would be dealt with.
The council would end up hearing the first reading of the ordinance, but tabled any action, allowing Mann two more weeks to present a plan. If the council elects to table after the second reading, Mann could have up to 30 days to present his plan before any suit would be filed. Morgan reminded the council once a lawsuit is filed, respondents have another 30 days in which they are required to reply.
A third structure, a residence at 215 Lake Street, was removed from the agenda after the council heard from local developer Wayne Camp, who is scheduled to close on buying the property in the next week. Camp told the council he plans to rehabilitate the property. Morgan advised the council the suit could foul up the closing on the property. Citing Camp’s reputation for successfully restoration of properties, the council agreed to remove the item.
In other business, the council approved moving a meter maintenance position from Grade 4 to Grade 6 on the city’s pay scale. The move results in a 23 cents an hour raise for one employee and 17 cents an hour more for the a second employee. The move was requested due to additional duties and training requirements added to the position in recent years.
The council also approved a request from Justin Methvin of Methvin Sanitation for the city to take over billing for commercial 95-gallon carts on water statements. The move would ensure all commercial accounts have trash service. The council approved the request by a unanimous vote.
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