Vacant Wilden Avenue house to be demolished

Jul. 6—GOSHEN — A vacant Goshen house was found unsafe for human habitation and ordered to be demolished during a meeting of the Goshen Board of Public Works and Safety Tuesday afternoon.

Tuesday's hearing involved a property at 221 W. Wilden Ave., owned by Ron Davidhizar, 203 Middlebury St., Goshen.

According to Travis Eash, code enforcement officer for the city, the property was originally inspected on Nov. 18, 2020, and was found to have numerous violations related to the city's Neighborhood Preservation Ordinance.

A sampling of the 10 safety violations referenced by Eash included: broken glass, trash, dead animals and animal feces were found throughout the structure; windows and exterior doors were missing or broken, leaving the property open and not secured; paint throughout the property was chipping and peeling; holes and cracks in the foundation were found, compromising the structural strength and weather resistance of the structure; and electrical wiring had been cut throughout the structure.

Following the Nov. 18, 2020 inspection, attempts were made to reinspect the property on March 1, 2021, and April 1, 2021, but were unsuccessful, he said. On April 22, Davidhizar was ordered to repair the noted violations and a hearing before the board was scheduled for May 24 to discuss the status of his clean-up effort.

However, Eash indicated during the May 24 hearing that an inspection of the home early that morning had revealed little action had been taken to repair the previously discovered violations.

Of the 10 originally identified violations, Eash noted that the first, involving the broken glass, trash and dead animals throughout the building, appeared to be the only violation to be at least substantially complete as of the May 24 inspection.

While Eash's recommendation at the time had been for the board to find the house unsafe for human habitation and to have it demolished, in the end, a majority of the board's members voted to give Davidhizar until June 1 to have a majority of the noted violations corrected.

Specifically, the vote required that the yard be mowed, and that the exterior of the house and garage have any loose siding and soffit, damaged windows or damaged doors be either repaired to the building department's satisfaction or replaced within the next four weeks. Voting in favor of the motion were board members Michael Landis and Mary Nichols. Goshen Mayor Jeremy Stutsman, who also holds a seat on the board, voted against allowing Davidhizar more time.

The board then voted to continue the hearing to June 21, during which Davidhizar would be asked to show all violations referenced in the previous motion had been taken care of satisfactorily. However, that June 21 hearing would later be rescheduled to June 28 at the request of the city, and then again to Monday's meeting at the request of Davidhizar's attorney, William Davis.

Speaking during Tuesday's hearing, Eash again noted that recent inspections of the property had revealed little to no progress had been made on the ordered repairs.

"As of June 23, the yard was probably at least six to 12 inches high," Eash told the board. "And as of this morning, it was the same. Well, actually even higher. It hadn't been touched since then.

"Also, with the windows and doors, I think he might have replaced a couple windows in the front," he added. "But other than that, the doors had not been touched, the windows had not been touched, the siding, the soffit, no progress whatsoever as of June 23."

As such, he again recommended that the property be found unsafe for human habitation and ordered to be demolished.

In the end, a majority of the board's members agreed with that recommendation, and a motion was passed to find the property unsafe for human habitation and to have all structures on the property demolished by the date of Sept. 7, 2021.

OTHER BUSINESS

In other business, board members:

—Approved the promotion of Ryan Adams from the rank of patrol office to the rank of captain with the Goshen Police Department.

—Approved the retirement of Mike Happer from the Goshen Fire Department effective Aug. 2. He has served the department for over 26 years.

—Approved a conditional offer of employment for Cade Richardson as a probationary firefighter with the Goshen Fire Department.

—Approved a $3,904 contract with A+ Window Cleaners for interior and exterior window cleaning of the Annex Building, Utilities Building, Goshen Police and Courts Building and City Hall.

—Approved a $49,460 contract with Vanguard Utility Service Inc. for the testing of cold water meters for the Goshen Water and Sewer Department.

—Approved closure of Plymouth Avenue the morning of July 10 for the Kids' and Teens' Triathlon. The road will reopen once the event has concluded.

—Approved the lowering of the Goshen millrace beginning Wednesday and continuing through July 30 in order to allow for the scheduled repair and painting of Bridge 303, a pedestrian bridge that connects Douglas Street to the Millrace Path and Shanklin Park. The bridge will be closed during the work. The Millrace Path will also be closed at the west end of the bridge from July 12 through July 23. A path detour will be marked for the public.

John Kline can be reached at john.kline@goshennews.com or 574-533-2151, ext. 240315. Follow John on Twitter @jkline_TGN.