Citizen appeals to Eaton council for help

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EATON — Eaton resident Annabelle Taylor appealed to city council for help with her neighbor, Brian Hines’ building during a council meeting on Monday, Dec. 18. She claims the building is destroying her own. The houses are located next to The Stable, on N. Barron St., and according to Taylor, Hines’ building is destroying any curb appeal her home and The Stable might have.

“I’ve had problems for over a year now with the building in between my house and The Stable. It is falling down and has been condemned for the last 20 years. It is still sitting there, but they are supposed to tear it down and they have a permit to tear it down. The city sent a letter to them in November giving him 10 days, but I spoke to [City Manager Brad Collins] last week. He said that they gave him more time because his contractor backed out,” Taylor said.

“Bricks are falling, again, on my house. Pieces of roof are falling on my house. Are we waiting for me to get killed? Or somebody on Barron Street walking by to get killed? Something needs to be done. It is causing problems for me, safety-wise.”

She explained she bought the house, fixed it up, went to get a mortgage and nobody will give her one because of her neighbor’s building. There was also a problem with insurance, where she had to sign a waiver saying they would not pay if that building fell on hers.

Collins replied, “The building is not condemned and has not been condemned. At this point it is not an imminent danger, so we are working with the property owner who has interest in taking the structure down. He is looking at various contractors and trying to get quotes.”

“So what is the solution here?” Mayor Gary Wagner asked.

Collins replied, they will continue to work with the property owner to resolve the matter.

“If the problem is anywhere close to what she is saying, why can’t we condemn the building?” Wagner asked.

According to officials, the situation is “fact sensitive” and had a “fine line” for the city to get involved.

Taylor has taken civil action again Hines and plans to pursue it again, due to the hardship of not being able to get a mortgage or insurance.

Wagner sympathized with Taylor and suggested having a structural engineer look at the building and see if it would qualify to be condemned and to see the severity of the situation.

In other business, council authorized the city manager to execute an addendum to the Electric Generation Supply Contract. Collins explained that following two recent mild weather seasons, the cost of energy has dropped and Miami Valley Communications Council (MVCC) has worked with IGS Dayton, Inc. to reduce rates during the current contracted.

Thus, the rate will reduce from $0.04893 to $0.04699, conditioned upon an extension of the current term of the Agreement for an additional 18 months.

Council also authorized the city manager to enter into a contract for the engineering of professional inspection painting services of the .750 MG Water Tower, located at Little League Park. Collins is directed to execute the contract with Dixon Engineering and Inspection Services, in the total amount of $34,548.

A contract was also authorized for the .750 MG Water Tower exterior painting project. The contract was awarded to Clear Creek Coatings LTD, in the total bid amount of $486,000.

They hope to do this work from August 2018 through November 2018.

In other business:

•Council approved the final reading of the final amendment to the annual appropriation for the fiscal year ending Dec. 31, 2017.

•Council approved a temporary appropriation for 2018.

•Council authorized the transfer of $100,000 worth of general revenue funds to the Public Safety Fund.

•Council authorized the 2018 Organizational Listing and the 2018 Organizational Listing for Fire/EMS.

Eaton City Council will meet again on Monday, Jan. 15 at 6 p.m. in the City Building Council Chambers.

By Kelsey Kimbler

[email protected]

Reach Kelsey Kimbler at 937-683-4061 or on Twitter @KKimbler_RH

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