July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Twice-torched home to be demolished (11/04/05)
Portland Board of Works
By By RACHELLE HAUGHN-
A Portland home which has been heavily damaged twice by arson could soon be razed.
The Portland Board of Works voted Thursday afternoon to pay for the demolition of a house located at 322 E. Elder St.
The house was set on fire on Sept. 25, and on Nov. 23, 2002, said Dave Houck, environmentalist/administrator of the Jay County Health Department.
No arrests have been made in connection with the fires.
Houck said the structure is a health hazard to adjacent property owners and local children. General Shanks Elementary is located across the street from the property, which is the second house west of Boundary Pike on Elder Street.
The owners of the property were sent letters stating they had three weeks to clean up the property or the house would be torn down, Houck said. The letters were sent on Oct. 19, and the three weeks will expire on Wednesday.
If the property owners choose to clean up the property before Wednesday, the house will not be torn down, he said. Houck does not expect the owners to clean the lot.
The board selected a $5,340 quote from LPI Paving and Excavating of Portland for the razing. Shroyer Bros. Inc. of Muncie submitted a quote of $7,500. The work will be paid for from the city’s demolition fund, city clerk-treasurer Linda Kennedy said this morning.
Houck said a lien will be placed on the property and the city could get reimbursed for some of the demolition costs if the lot is sold.
Also Thursday, the board voted to sign an inter-local agreement between state and local public agencies for the construction and project management of the Boundary Pike/Wayne Street project.
The agreement states how much the Indiana Department of Transportation and the city will pay for the $4.6 million project, said Bruce Hosier, mayor of Portland.
INDOT will give the city $3,680,000 to fund the project, which is 80 percent of the cost. The city is responsible for the remaining 20 percent. INDOT’s funding comes from federal gasoline taxes.
Hosier said the project, which will improve drainage and water supply, has been delayed because of problems in acquiring rights-of-way. City officials are hoping construction will begin early next year, he said.[[In-content Ad]]
The Portland Board of Works voted Thursday afternoon to pay for the demolition of a house located at 322 E. Elder St.
The house was set on fire on Sept. 25, and on Nov. 23, 2002, said Dave Houck, environmentalist/administrator of the Jay County Health Department.
No arrests have been made in connection with the fires.
Houck said the structure is a health hazard to adjacent property owners and local children. General Shanks Elementary is located across the street from the property, which is the second house west of Boundary Pike on Elder Street.
The owners of the property were sent letters stating they had three weeks to clean up the property or the house would be torn down, Houck said. The letters were sent on Oct. 19, and the three weeks will expire on Wednesday.
If the property owners choose to clean up the property before Wednesday, the house will not be torn down, he said. Houck does not expect the owners to clean the lot.
The board selected a $5,340 quote from LPI Paving and Excavating of Portland for the razing. Shroyer Bros. Inc. of Muncie submitted a quote of $7,500. The work will be paid for from the city’s demolition fund, city clerk-treasurer Linda Kennedy said this morning.
Houck said a lien will be placed on the property and the city could get reimbursed for some of the demolition costs if the lot is sold.
Also Thursday, the board voted to sign an inter-local agreement between state and local public agencies for the construction and project management of the Boundary Pike/Wayne Street project.
The agreement states how much the Indiana Department of Transportation and the city will pay for the $4.6 million project, said Bruce Hosier, mayor of Portland.
INDOT will give the city $3,680,000 to fund the project, which is 80 percent of the cost. The city is responsible for the remaining 20 percent. INDOT’s funding comes from federal gasoline taxes.
Hosier said the project, which will improve drainage and water supply, has been delayed because of problems in acquiring rights-of-way. City officials are hoping construction will begin early next year, he said.[[In-content Ad]]
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