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Wednesday, January 22, 2025

City of Genoa Committee of the Whole met February 18

City of Genoa Committee of the Whole met Feb. 18.

Here is the minutes provided by the committee:

Mayor Vicary called the Special Committee of the Whole meeting to order at 6:02 p.m. Roll call was taken. Aldermen Wesner, Carroll, Di Guido, Stevenson, Winter, Brust and Lang were present. Alderman Cravatta arrived at 6:30 p.m.

OLD BUSINESS – None

NEW BUSINESS

PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION REGARDING 131 SOUTH SYCAMORE STREET:

Building Inspector, Dave Eggleston provided details of his assessment of the property located at 131 South Sycamore Street. His PowerPoint presentation included pictures of various code violations and general conditions of the home, including; the front porch hanging off of the house, broken windows, rotting wood, a leaning chimney and indicated that the structural integrity is compromised, no toilet in the bathroom, animal feces inside the home, various places around the house and in the basement where the foundation was cracked and separating, roof damage, ceilings bowing down and buckling floors from water damage, a car that was sunken into the ground with weeds and branches growing around it, along with various other infractions. He indicated that he could smell mold, there were combustibles around the furnace and there is asbestos in the house as well. Inspector Eggleston was asked about the likelihood of the paint containing lead. He responded that due to the age of the home, he believes it is very likely that the paint contains lead. It was asked if removing the lead paint was included in the bid or if it would be an additional expense. Staff responded that they would look into the lead abatement. Inspector Eggleston was asked if in his opinion, is the house is repairable? He responded that he didn’t want to say yes or no, but if more than 49% of the house were to be repaired, all of the plumbing, electrical, mechanical and energy would need to be brought up to the current code, which would be very costly.

The question of how much would it cost to secure the house was asked. Public Works Director, Rich Gentile responded approximately $5,000. There was some discussion regarding securing the home, putting a lien on it and recouping the money when the house sells. Since the current order is to demolish the house, Attorney Slingerland would need to go back to court and ask the judge to change the order from demolition to repair. If the judge granted the change to a repair order and the City secured it, but it didn’t sell, Attorney Slingerland would need to go back to court and change it back to a demolition order, if the City decided to go that route. Attorney Slingerland also indicated that the judge may not order the house to be demolished for only $5,000 in liens.

Treasurer, Jan Tures explained that the $30,000 for asbestos removal and demolition of the house has been budgeted from the CDAP account which is not comprised of tax dollar money. There is currently over $200,000 in that account. Some Council members felt that the City should not take on the financial burden of demolishing the house and then not being able to recoup the expense. They also expressed that they believe contractors would be interested in purchasing the home and fixing it up at a reasonable cost to resell it. There was some discussion regarding the cost of fixing the foundation being costly, but there are companies that can lift structures up and put new foundations underneath.

If the house is demolished, the property owner has another property that the City would be able lien, which would recoup more of the expenses. Other Council members expressed that the surrounding residents have shown up to several meetings voicing their concerns and that the City owes it to them to have the house torn down.

Attorney Slingerland was asked if there was a way the City could obtain the property due to abandonment by the property owner. He responded that the home would need to be vacant for at least 2 years and has to have a delinquent water bill. There is no delinquent water bill.

Due to the length of the previous subject, the discussion regarding a TIF district was tabled for another meeting.

Motion made by Alderman Stevenson to adjourn the Special Committee of the Whole meeting, seconded by Alderman Wesner. Voice vote was taken. All voted yes. Motion carried. Meeting was adjourned at 6:55 p.m.

https://www.genoa-il.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/COW-Meeting-20200218.pdf

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