City

Alderman Benny Huskins resigns

City moves to pursue demolition of building

[July 08, 2008] 

Fifteen-year veteran alderman Benny Huskins retiring

The city of Lincoln is losing its most historically knowledgeable councilman, Benny Huskins. Mayor Beth Davis-Kavelman opened the session at Monday night's city council business meeting by reading a letter from Huskins.

"To the mayor and city council, I regret to inform you that as of July 15, 2008, I am retiring from the city for personal reasons," Huskins wrote. In the letter he thanked the mayor, past mayors, city council members and the Ward 1 residents for all they had done during his past four terms as alderman.

Huskins was not in attendance at the council meeting either last week or this week. He missed a number of meetings last year during the illness and death of his wife, Wanda. His father, Everett, passed away shortly after that in September.

The mayor said she would be looking for someone from Ward 1 to finish out Huskins' term, which expires April 30, 2009.

City moves to press for demolition of privately owned building

City aldermen agreed unanimously that it is time to take legal action for the demolition of a building at 217 S. Sangamon St. It is a safety issue, city attorney Bill Bates said.

The structural integrity of the building, located near Alexander Lumber, was apparently compromised while it was under renovation, leading to a leaning brick wall.

City code enforcement officer Les Last has tried working with the owner, Mark Gates. Gates said he had an architectural engineer working on the plans to fix the problem. Bates said that Gates did not meet multiple start dates and has not shown up for scheduled meetings.

Bates said that the process would begin with a title search to confirm ownership and to identify if any liens are held against the property. Next he would file a lawsuit for demolition.

The city would incur all costs of the lawsuit and the demolition. When asked what the costs might be, Bates responded that he expects that Gates will fight the action and the city would have to hire an expert, such as a structural engineer, to prove that the building is dangerous and in need of demolition. He estimated that it would cost $10,000 to $15,000 in legal fees just to get to the demolition portion.

There would be the demolition costs, and then probably more legal processes and fees to take possession of the property.

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