The Great Bend City Council Monday night set public hearings for properties at 1210 Morton Street and 1923 Holland, both deemed unsafe and dangerous by city safety personnel. The hearings will take place at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 7, at City Hall, 1209 Williams.
Public hearings were set before the Great Bend City Council Monday night on two properties deemed by safe personnel to be unsafe and dangerous. These included 1210 Morton St. and 1923 Holland.
They have been inspected by the Code Enforcement Department and the building inspector. City officials have determined that the structures are unsafe and dangerous, said Code Enforcement Officer Art Keffer.
By resolution, the council set a public hearing for Monday night to allow any owners, agent lienholders or occupants to appear and show cause why the structures should not be removed.
As for 1210 Morton, during his inspection, Building Inspector Logan Burns noted the following items:
• the south wall of the structure has been compromised and the bottom plate is not in its original position due to no anchor bolts.
• The south wall is also no longer plumb and straight and is putting stress on the roof structure.
• The southeast corner of the overhead door opening is being braced by several pieces of lumber and a shovel.
• The east wall of the structure is showing evidence of stress because the walls shifting and the header coming apart from the bearing studs
below it.
• The roof also shows some settling on the east side because of header size and shifting. The north wall line of the structure is no longer plumb and straight and the bottom plate is no longer in its original position due to no anchor bolts and shifting of the structure.
• Due to the sustained damage to the bottom plate, studs and top plate, it is possible this structure may not be capable of resisting any and all forces and loads to which they may be subjected to if left unattended.
• This structure would not meet the Uniform Housing Code.
At 1923 Holland. Burns noted:
• The west wall of the dwelling seemed to not have any extensive damage as to what the rest of the structure had sustained.
• The north side of the dwelling is settling from the east middle third up to the point of where an addition seems to have been constructed at some point.
• The top plate has deteriorated and no longer hold the north wall plumb and straight.
• The siding at the top of the wall on the middle window is missing and is letting moisture penetrate the structure.
• The cinder block foundation shows signs of settling as well.
• The dwelling appears to not have any damage other than the cinder block foundation shows large cracks and the front porch concrete has large gaps where moisture has been evident.
• The south side of the structure shows the same signs of settling and deterioration as the north side.
• The south wall is no longer plumb and straight from the roof leaking and the door located on the south side shows extreme deterioration.
• The fascia boards are also rotted because of no upkeep.
• The roof has T lock shingles and has not had any maintenance or upkeep in years. The roof is leaking and has most likely caused the damage to the north and south walls.
• There are multiple tarps covering the roof on the north and south side to help with leaks.
• The flue cap on the south roof plane is missing and is letting moisture into the structure.
• The siding around the entire dwelling shows signs that it has not been maintained and has contributed to the water damaged.
• This structure would not meet the Uniform Housing Code.
Hearing continued for wind-damaged garage
BY DALE HOGG
dhogg@gbtribune.com
The Great Bend City Council had planned a public hearing on the fate of a severely dilapidated garage at 19th and Washington Monday night, but the proceeding was continued.
The resolution setting the hearing date for the structure at 2555 19th was mailed to the owner and interested parties and published. The owner, Michael Whithorn, sent a letter stating that he will be unable to appear because he is in is in jail in Newton County, Ark,, said City Attorney Allen Glendenning.
Whithorn expects to be out of jail in early January and states that he has already obtained financing to repair the garage as well make other repairs and improvements on the property. There is also a lot of personal property in the structure that needs to be removed.
Whithorn said he intends to start the work in the spring of 2022. The building was damaged during a storm nearly a year and a half ago.
Glendenning said Whithorn indicated he has obtained funding to do the work. The city wants to see proof of this.
The garage has been inspected by the Code Enforcement Department and Building Inspector Logan Burns. They have determined that the structure is unsafe and dangerous.
Burns found:
• A deteriorated tarp had been covering the roof at the location where a tree had previously fallen on it June 21, 2020.
• The double top plate at the location was split in half and separated on the east and west sides of the hole.
• The north wall was pushed out towards the north approximately three to four inches and the northwest comer of the structure was leaning towards the west approximately six to eight inches. This is evidence of the top plate being separated and not holding the corner plumb.
• There did not appear to be any evidence of the garage door header sagging, but it won’t close all the way.
• From looking at the roof (without being able to accurately measure the hole from the roof or from the inside) he estimated that six to seven rafters have been compromised from the tree putting stress on them as well as the roof sheathing that is no longer in place.
• Without seeing the underneath side of the roof from inside, he couldn’t say the exact amount of damage the structure sustained.
• Due to the sustained damage to the studs, wall sheathing, double top plate, rafters, roof sheathing, and the north wall and northwest corner dislocation, it is possible that the structure “may not be capable of resisting any and all forces and loads to which they may be subjected if left unattended.”
• This structure would not meet the 1991 Uniform Housing Code.
