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Citizens share frustrations about abandoned structures

A group of concerned citizens met this week to bring attention to abandoned, dilapidated structures, like this home on South Davis Avenue in Elkins.

ELKINS — Concerned citizens gathered this week to air their frustrations about unsafe, dilapidated structures both in the city of Elkins and in Randolph County.

From having rats and piles of trash to used needles and human waste, abandoned and/or dilapidated structures can pose a serious health hazard and annoyance to the surrounding neighborhoods, said Kathy Vance, an Elkins resident and business owner who shared comments during a town hall meeting Tuesday.

“I don’t know what we can do to get these people to be responsible for their properties,” Vance said during the meeting, which took place in the lower level of the Elkins-Randolph County Public Library. “They’re an eyesore to our community and they depreciate property values.”

The meeting attracted Randolph County Commissioner Mark Scott; Delegate Bill Hartman, D-Randolph; Elkins City Councilwoman Linda Vest; former city officials; and a range of concerned citizens, including homeowners who live adjacent to structures that should be condemned and demolished.

Scott, who served on City Council prior to becoming a county commissioner, said local officials are trying to address dilapidated structures, and it can be a long, involved process if property owners are unable or unwilling to make improvements.

He said about a year and a half ago, officials and concerned citizens worked with city staff members to create a list of nearly 40 vacant, dilapidated properties within the city limits that do not meet conditions set by city code.

While a few of those properties have since been improved, he said the majority of the list remains the same. That has caused a lot of frustration and complaints to local officials, but he said he thinks keeping an open discussion is important.

“That’s what I enjoy about these town halls,” Scott said. “It allows me to hear things and have an ongoing dialogue, and see if there are things that I can look into. … It’s been a very rewarding experience for me.

“It’s not about bashing government. It’s about how we can work together to help government agencies work more efficiently for our citizens.”

Examples of local properties mentioned during the meeting included homes that have piles of trash, snakes, rats and vermin; structures that are partially collapsed; buildings that have attracted drug activity and squatters; areas where broken vehicles are parked in violation of city code; and places where the bad smell from one property envelops the entire block.

The process of notifying a property owner of conditions that need to be addressed are outlined by the Code Enforcement Protocol adopted by City Council on July 21, 2016.

The first step of initial enforcement of building and related codes shall be performed by the city’s code enforcement officer, according to the Code Enforcement Protocol. There is an initial warning stage to inform the property owner of code violation, and after issuing a warning, the code enforcement officer is to verify, within 14 business days, that the condition has been corrected. If it has not been corrected, the city has an established process for imposing fines.

Several people at the town hall meeting questioned whether the established enforcement process is being handled properly.

While the city’s code enforcement officer, Phil Isner, did not respond to a request for comment by presstime, Elkins Mayor Van Broughton said the city is addressing the worst properties first — such as structures that suffered heavy fire damage and will be demolished following circuit court approval.

“We are in the process,” Broughton said in a phone interview Friday. “We got one we’re going to take down in a couple weeks. … Some of these houses are estate issues, and it gets tied up in court.”

Elkins City Councilman David Parker, chairperson of the Public Safety Committee, said addressing dilapidated structures is an ongoing challenge for everyone involved.

“It’s a tedious process. I really get very, very impatient with it,” Parker said. “I share the frustration everybody else does.”

He also said every situation is different, and city officials have to find a balance between working with property owners and addressing concerns from other people in the neighborhood.

“We have worked very, very hard, and I’m working with constituents who are dealing with some crazy stuff that they should not have to be living with,” he said.

He noted the cost of demolishing a single structure can exceed $20,000, and the city does have the ability to apply for a loan to help with those costs. However, the loan would have to be repaid, and city officials would need to come up with a plan to address that need.

Parker said fees are being assessed for vacant structures, but the amount of money coming in would not come close to covering the cost of one difficult demolition project.

Of course, he said not all of the structures need to be demolished.

“If there are code violations, the property owner is notified and the property owner is ‘on the hook,'” Parker said, explaining some owners do try to make improvements. “Our goal is not to penalize people. Our goal is to bring these properties into compliance.”

While the city of Elkins has authority to assess fees and pursue demolitions if necessary, Scott said Randolph County does not currently have an ordinance to address dilapidated structures. He said it’s been something he has researched for the past few months, and he has looked into how other counties are handling the problem.

“We have been doing ongoing work, looking at possibly passing some type of dilapidated structure ordinance … that can allow for enforcement,” Scott said in a phone interview Friday.

For now, potentially hazardous properties that are outside city limits — as well as those within the city — can be brought to the attention of the Randolph County Health Department.

Scott, Vance and others attending this week’s meeting said they plan to fill out forms to request investigations into properties that they consider to be public health hazards or nuisances. Those requests will be submitted to the Randolph County Health Department, and copies will be sent to the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection and the West Virginia State Environmental Health Office.

Vance said she hopes those requests will get more action on the local and state level.

“I just think it’s time that we bring attention to it publicly. … We’ve gotta have something done,” she said.

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