 The first property is at 803 Short Eighth. Lebegue said the
property has been an issue for his office since his first day of
working in Lincoln. He said the building has been vacant now for
over a year, the water is shut off, and the roof is collapsing. He
said the building is not livable.Lebegue said he has sought out
two estimates for demolition of the property, and between Goodman
Excavating and Jim Moody Excavating, Goodman came in with the lower
price of $4,600.
Lebegue shared with the council that at the landfill where the
debris is to be hauled, the city currently has a credit balance of
$3,500. He said the fees for the debris would fall well under that
amount.
The second location on the city hit list is 424 N. Jefferson. Lebegue said this is a chronic nuisance house and not habitable. He
told the council there was a fire at the house in 2010, and since
then the owner has claimed the house would be repaired, but nothing
has happened.
Lebegue said the house is occupied by animals and has broken
windows where stray and wild animals can get in and out at will.
For this property, Lebegue said that Jim Moody Excavating came in
with the lower price of $4,750. He said the cost overall is higher
than the other project because there are some associated
outbuildings involved in the demolition. Again, the credit balance
at the landfill will cover the fee for the debris from this
property.
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Lebegue asked that the fast-track demolition of these two
properties be placed on the Monday voting agenda. There is a legal
process that has to be followed for the demolition. Lebegue said
that if the city will approve the request, he and city attorney
Blinn Bates can get it started, and the buildings could be
demolished within the next few months.
During discussion, Jeff Hoinacki said he was pleased that there
was a credit balance at the landfill to help cover this cost.
Lebegue said he had worked with the city treasurer, Chuck Conzo,
to prepay the landfill the leftover balance from last year's budget,
and he would like to continue that practice in the future.
It was also noted that for this year, the city has a budget of
$25,000 for demolition. The two houses on the list now will
constitute less than half of that balance.
Mayor Keith Snyder asked if Lebegue's request could be placed on
the consent agenda for the Nov. 4 voting session, and all agreed
that it could.
In the city council, when items are placed on the consent agenda,
it is an indication that the council feels there will be no need of
further discussion on the matter and that the request will be
supported by the full membership.
The city does, however, have the right to remove items from the
consent agenda for further discussion and individual vote if
circumstances around the request would change.
[By NILA SMITH]
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