The Chesterton Town Council has agreed to begin condemnation proceedings against the owner of the home at 616 S. Second Street damaged last November by fire.

At their meeting Monday night, members voted 4-1 to initiate those proceedings.

Member Dave Cincoski, R-3rd, voted against the motion, after his colleagues voted 1-4 to reject his earlier motion to fine owner Terry Long $5,000, with $2,500 of that fine to be suspended on the condition that he secure a building permit within 30 days for repairs and complete those repairs within six months.

“Up to now we’ve done a lot of handholding,” Member Sharon Darnell, D-4th, told Long prior to the vote on condemnation. “We’ve given you a chance.”

At its last meeting the council gave Long a deadline of June 18 to do the following: to remove all debris from the interior of the home and the exterior of the property and to provide the certified opinion of a structural engineer as to the actual integrity of the house.

Building Commissioner Mike Orlich advised members, however, that though the debris from the yard had been removed and three 30-yard dumpsters had been filled with debris from the interior, nevertheless there remains debris inside the home. Orlich also said that the structural engineer--who in the end declared the house to be sound once two specific repairs had been made--did not visit the site until June 19.

“So they didn’t meet what we told them to do?” asked President Emerson DeLaney, R-5th.

“Not 100 percent,” Orlich replied. “No.”

At this point Cincoski--who later explained that he was hopeful of recouping some of the money which the town has already expended on the issue--made his motion to fine Long $5,000, with the understanding that the fine would be cut in half if Long were to secure a building permit within 30 days and by the end of those 30 days to have already rehabbed the exterior and treated the interior for odor detectable from the street.

Neighbors, however, voiced their disappointment with Cincoski’s motion. Dave Hartford expressed his doubts that Long has $2,500--much less $5,000--to pay the fine and that if he does the money might be better spent on repairs. In any case, Hartford asserted, Long would likely “just come up with another excuse” at the end of the 30 days.

Long, Jim Biggs said, had given “clear indication that he will do what he wants the way he wants when he wants.” The council, Biggs urged, must “send a clear message that this sort of nonsense isn’t going to be tolerated in our town.”

Long’s attorney, on the other hand, Terry Hiestand, suggested that Long should be “commended” for what he’s already accomplished. “Ninety yards is a lot of stuff to remove from the property, working with very little help,” he said, and Long “has gone above and beyond a good faith effort to do what he was asked to do.”

Hiestand also argued that, while the house may not be habitable at the moment, it is not unsafe--as Orlich has determined--and that his client would be willing to challenge that determination in court.

Long, for his part, told the council that the house is sound, that a lot of buildings in town are uninhabitable because they don’t have furnaces and other necessary appliances, and that the odor from the home comes from food dumped outside the kitchen area.

While Long did say that he certainly wants to address the appearance of the exterior, he can’t do so in a single stage because of some contemplated structural changes in the interior. The rehab of the interior, moreover, can’t be “rushed into,” there are many issues to be considered, and at this point a time line for the rehab would be impossible to calculate, Long said.

Instead, Long said, he would like to build a garage on the property--a nice one appropriate for the neighborhood--so that he has a place to store the items salvaged from the fire. Long suggested a 90-day period in which to construct that garage.

Without further ado members voted 1-4 to reject Cincoski’s motion to fine Long and then promptly voted 4-1 to begin condemnation proceedings.

Posted 6/23/2009