HOISINGTON — The Hoisington City Council was presented with a list of 10 addresses with structures deemed unsafe or dangerous by the city’s code enforcement officer at its regular meeting Monday evening.

City Manager Jonathan Mitchell explained that Dolores Kipper, code enforcement officer, had been making inspections and had compiled a list of 25 properties determined to be dangerous. Due to the lengthy nature of the process for action, the list will be presented as an updatable document with 10 addresses listed at a time. As properties are dealt with and removed from the list, they would be replaced and the list revised to maintain a continuous document for council review.

Mitchell noted that the list would contain only properties that are deemed unsafe or dangerous. Instances of nuisance or blight are totally separate and would be introduced separately to the council.

“Our staff has been working on a list of 25 properties that have the appearance of being dangerous,” he said. “If you follow the city code, it is a lengthy process. The first step is to have the code enforcement officer conduct a preliminary investigation.” The next step would be to review with the homeowner and others involved. A formal report by the abstract office would show if the property is current on taxes. Usually, a property slated for a sheriff’s sale will not be included in the unsafe or dangerous process, because if they are three or four years delinquent in taxes the amount would be difficult to recover, he said. 

The next step is a show cause hearing done through a resolution.

“This adds more time to the process but it is important because it gives the owner of record and interested parties the opportunity to tell the council why it should not be considered dangerous.” The resolution is published twice and the hearing date is set 30 days following the date of the last publication.

At the hearing, the owner may request time to make reparations, which is awarded at will of the council. After the hearing, the council may rule then on whether or not to move on to demolition of the property.

“If the council is committed to this, I think it is something that we can move forward on. This first list will get bigger or smaller as properties are addressed and taken care of.”

The list of the first 10 properties includes: 268 W. Railroad; 521 E. First St.; 315 E. Second St.; 701 E. Second St.; 664 W. Second St.; 770 W. Second St.; 771 W. Second St.; 501 E. Third St.; 509 E. Third St.; and 601 E. Fourth St.