Struggles accompanying the demolition of selected houses in Nitro dominated the discussion during the City Council meeting Tuesday.
Mayor Dave Casebolt said that while the structure at 1106 11th St. already has been condemned, the property owner at 1108 11th St. has yet to respond to contact attempts.
"We are waiting on the OK to demolish this property, but it's got to come down," said Casebolt. "Both properties contain asbestos, one is a meth house."
Connecting with property owners alone presents an enormous challenge and additional concerns lie with the amount of funds available to complete demolition.
Casebolt hopes this problem can be alleviated through a portion of the $250,000 appropriated by the Legislature for demolishing properties through the West Virginia Housing and Development Fund. A meeting with Dave Rinehart, the Fund's Southern West Virginia area manager, on Oct. 9 at West Virginia Tech will further outline how the fund works.
"In order to be approved, we have to have a plan for how the land will be used after the structure is condemned," said Casebolt.
City attorney Johnnie Brown explained that even with the proper funding, the owners of targeted properties have the right to appeal the demolition process, which can then go all the way to circuit court.
Should the city not receive legislative funds or be in need of additional support, Casebolt believes there may be another option - utilizing the more than $900,000 surplus in funds that came in the form of unused sanitary project bids.
"We are now putting together a list of how to possibly spend that money and I feel if we had an excavator of our own, we could demolish our own houses," said Casebolt. "The sanitary board could also use it for a lot of their digging.
"Everyone has houses in their ward that need demolished, but the city doesn't have the money. If we had our own equipment, our money could go a long way."
In other business, council:
n Approved the minutes, as written, from the Sept. 1 meeting
n Set the first meeting in November for Monday, Nov. 2
n Tabled the wastewater utility board petition for bid contracts until the first meeting in October, awaiting bid details from attorney
n Passed motion to move milling equipment bid discussion to committee that includes Mayor Dave Casebolt, Ward 1 Councilman Al Walls and Ward 2 Councilman Bill Racer
n Approved the treasurer's report that included a net loss of $190,000
n Approved the donation of remaining concession stand food to Nitro Little League Baseball
n Suspended a motion to approve the Cub Scout Troop's boot drive request until schedule is checked for location availability; tentative date set for Oct. 10 or Nov. 14.