I got to experience another level of city government yesterday. A few weeks ago we noticed a new sign posted on the house next door. It was a notice that a meeting would be held yesterday concerning the future of the property. We took note of the date and I went to that meeting.
I'm not sure what the official name for the city commission was that was hosting the meeting, but they were looking at six properties in Galveston. The one next door to us was first on the list. The process began with the city staffers who actually did the footwork on each place making their report. They had photographs of the outside and inside of the house, showing how filthy it is. They talked about the efforts they had made to contact the owner. All letters had been returned, and a visit with the owner's relatives had resulted in their decision that they were not interested in the property. The staff determined:
1. It is substandard and dangerous.
I could have told them that.
2. All statements made about it in the staff report about damages and filthy conditions were true and accurate.
That had to be something they were required to say, because one of the commissioners had to read into the record, word-for-word exactly what the staff guy had just read, including each of the ways the house was messed up – rotting wood, filthy conditions inside, siding falling off, etc.
3. (and this is the one I was waiting for) The owner is required to correct and abate all the issues. They must apply for permits by Monday, August 20 to repair the structure and initiate repairs within 30 days and complete repairs within 90 days. If they choose to demolish the structure they must apply for permits by the same date and complete demolition, including removal of debris and foundation within 30 days. Further, within 7 days it must be boarded up sufficiently and the debris and filth inside cleaned up.
That was a mouthful. Even the attorney advising them had to ask for clarification on some points. She didn't think they could require the cleanup inside if they also required the boarding up, so I think they left the cleanup to be done whenever the repairs or demolition took place. They asked if anyone from the public had anything to say, so I went to the mike and signed in.
I just wanted to ask about something I had heard the staff guy say. He said that Bank of America had expressly denied owning the property. I told them that representatives of the bank were there about every month or six weeks to mow or, more often, to just take pictures. He said that as lien holder, they were just required to take care of it in terms of how it looked and whether it was dangerous. Before I could walk away, the chairman asked me a question. He wanted to know how I felt about the property. What did I want to happen? That was an easy one to answer. "I want it to be torn down and all the debris hauled away, just as you said." He grinned and thanked me.
They went on to other properties, but a nagging question stayed with me. What happens when they don't do what you said they "had to do"? I hung around until the end of the meeting when they opened the floor for other public comments. I cautiously asked if I could ask one more question. They welcomed me back to the mike. I put forth my query about what happens next when they don't do as instructed. The commissioners looked to the staff to answer and the staff looked to them to answer. I shyly added, "I just want to know what to tell my neighborhood association what we will have to do next." Now that struck some kind of nerve, apparently. I guess it was the mention of a neighborhood association. We actually just met as a group of neighbors for the first time the other night, so it's not like we have any structure or officers or anything. But just the mention caused everyone in the room to sit up in their chairs and lean forward towards me. Two or three of them started talking at once, bending over backwards to tell me who to contact and when and to keep calling, but just not every other day, but they were interested in helping out any way they could. The staff guy who had been running the slide show jumped up and handed me his card. When the furor settled down a bit I thanked them and said, "Just to clarify, what exactly happens next?" The answer was, "The city will initiate proceedings and will demolish the structure." That's what I wanted to hear. Maybe by the fourth anniversary of Hurricane Ike they will finally resolve another of his remnants.
Psalms 16:2-3 says, "I said to the Lord, "You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing." As for the saints who are in the land, they are the glorious ones in whom is all my delight."
Father, thank you for the saints at Seaside and beyond who have been part of the "good thing" you have given me. Amen.
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