Condemnation Hearing Held in Washington Monday

The City of Washington held a condemnation meeting Monday Morning at Washington City Hall.

The first property that was brought up by city officials was a property at 203 Southeast 11th Street. The property is owned by Don Wolfe. According to city officials, they have an issue with vehicles that are on the property . Wolfe tells city officials that the vehicles are plated and insured. The second concern is the condition of the property. Officials think the windows need to be addressed. Wolfe told the board that the windows need to be addressed. Finally, officials mentioned the amount of items on the front porch is a concern. City officials told Wolfe that they need to make more progress on the property. Wolfe is continuing to try to improve the property, but has run into an issue involving trying to get financial backing to work on improving the property. Wolfe says due to the property’s current condition, he is having issues obtaining homeowners insurance. Without the insurance, Wolfe says the bank won’t lend him the money needed to work on the property. The board set the situation out for 3 months out for a status update.

The second property brought up by city officials was located at 1509 Jackson Street. The property is owned by Saul Henriquez. Henriquez currently has the property boarded up and told city officials that there is foundation work taking place as well as fixing some floor joists. Officials told Henriquez that they would like to see continual improvement on the property. According to code enforcement officials, work has been taking place to clean up the property from a previous fire.

The third property brought up by city officials was located at 1724 West Walnut Street. The property is Kayden Gilmore. According to city officials, cleanup needs to continue on the property. The property was destroyed by fire. Gilmore says work continues on cleanup. City officials will check back in for progress in 90 days.

The fourth property brought up to the city was located at 1003 Maxwell Avenue. The property is owned by Jiminez Vasquez. City officials believe the property needs to be removed as it’s an older trailer they believe is beyond repair. Vasquez did not appear at the hearing. City officials issued an order to remove the trailer from the property within 45 days.

The fifth property was a property at 1300 Washington Avenue. The property is owned by Morris Portee. The board mentioned this was the third time this property has had work started and then stopped. Officials are going to give Morris Portee 45 days to put a roof on the property or the city will look into requesting bids for demolition.

The sixth and final property is located at 506 Vann Street. The property is owned by Giovanni Mandujano. Mandujano was not present at Monday’s hearing. According to the board, the property is an older trailer that had a burnout on the backside. Officials are recommending the owner to remove the trailer from the property within 45 days or the city will look into requesting bids for demolition.