Code Enforcement Officer updates Ellerbe residents on property issues

ELLERBE — Code enforcement officer John Ganus presented an updated code enforcement report at Ellerbe’s town meeting on Monday evening, addressing ongoing issues with local properties.

“I’m still trying to get some movement, more than just tiny baby steps on the Ellerbe Mobile Home Park,” Ganus said. “There are so many issues with the conditions of some of the trailers. We still got a couple of junk cars throughout the park.”

He noted, however, that the park’s overall cleanliness has improved. “There’s still a little bit [of debris] but it’s a lot better than what it has been in the past years.”

Ganus is working closely with the owners to assess necessary improvements over the next couple of months. “Some of the trailers belong to the individuals that are living in them and some belong to the park owner, so we’ll be contacting each individual trailer based on ownership.”

He also reminded the board that last month they adopted an ordinance for the demolition of an abandoned house at 2004 Hwy 220 North. A bid opening will be set up soon. “I’m looking for a couple more demolition contractors to add to the list so that we can get a good group of them submitting.”

Regarding an abandoned substandard dwelling on Second Street, Ganus shared that the owners had originally planned to relocate the house but that plan fell through. “They decided to renovate it in place, and as of Saturday, they put a brand-new roof on it, which was the first step in doing the renovation. You got to have a good top on it or else you’re wasting your money underneath. So the first step is done, we’ve done the top on it, so they’ll be moving forward from there and I’ll stay in contact with one of them.”

Ganus also addressed a debris and trash issue on West Sunset Avenue, stating that he has spoken with a contractor about cleaning up the area. “He was planning on coming to do it next week. I told him that in this particular case, I won’t be on-site when he’s doing the cleaning and that certain things can go and certain things are not violations. Because of previous involvement, we’re going to ask for a sheriff’s department deputy to stand by on that property while they clean up.”

On Main Street, two houses with accumulated construction debris have now been cleared, closing those cases. Meanwhile, an abandoned structure at 2040 Main Street may soon have a new owner. “I reached out to [the owner] again today. They had told me last month they had a potential buyer. I haven’t heard anything from them. There hasn’t been any movement on fixing up the building but I reached out to them at the end of the day, and if I get a positive response, then we’ll be moving to the next step and bring that before the board in the next month or two.”

Last month, the board adopted an ordinance to demolish an abandoned structure at 4383 Main Street. Ganus said a potential buyer expressed interest in purchasing and demolishing the property. “I checked the records and it doesn’t indicate any board action; there’s been no deed transfer or anything like that as of today. We reached out to the closing attorney to see what was going on. If the sale doesn’t go through, we will continue moving forward with this demolition order. When I send out bids for the other house [on 2004 Hwy 220 North] I will also send out a bid package for this one. If we need to tear it down, we will because you’ve already approved that process.” He added that if he does not hear back within the next couple of weeks, he will begin sending out bid packages. “A buyer is a buyer but until they close on it with a deed transfer, all they are is a potential buyer.”

A hearing was recently held for the building at 4385 Main Street, which Ganus described as successful because the property owners attended. “It was a nice change of pace when people actually show up for a hearing. We had various conversations, options and directions on that. They’ve been trying to sell the building for a while. They didn’t get any good offers. The one they had, the guy showed up to look at it and said, ‘No, this is too much for me to mess with,’ so he backed away. Now they’re looking to find a contractor to get an idea of renovation costs. So, sale, renovation and demolition are all possibilities.”

Ganus said he will issue an order on the building soon, giving the owners 90 days to either repair or demolish it. “They asked if they were in the process, would they be able to get more time. Our normal approach is that if there’s substantial progress as we’re getting close to the deadline, we’re more than happy to extend it so they can finish it out. But if it looks pretty much like it does today around day 90, there’s not going to be an extension.”