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Row of houses declared unsafe, dangerous
Hearing set to determine fate of turn-of-the-century structures
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Shown is the house at 2111 16th considered unsafe and dangerous by the City of Great Bend. - photo by DALE HOGG Great Bend Tribune

 The Great Bend City Council Monday night set a public hearing date for four houses deemed as unsafe and dangerous structures in the 2100 block of 16th Street with the goal of having them demolished. 

The homes at 2109 16th Street, 2111 16th Street, 2115 16th Street and 2119 16th Street are all owned by Burt Luse Jr. and Ida Marie Luse of Great Bend. They stand across the street from the Great Bend Post Office.

The hearing will take place at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 19 in the City Council Chambers prior to the council’s regular meeting.

According to Code Enforcement Officer Stuart Baker, cited as problems are broken and/or boarded-up windows, missing or malfunctioning doors, peeling paint, sagging porches, missing siding, open crawl spaces, the presence of cats and other vermin, piles of debris and holes in the roofs. In addition, there is no electrical and/or gas service, and they are all vacant.

“The condition of the premises is an eminent danger to the adjacent property owners and to the public,” Baker said. “The premises are also a blighting influence on the adjacent neighborhood.”

Baker has been corresponding with the Luses since March of last year, trying to make contact with them over 30 times. The deadline given them to either repair or raze the structures, or make other arrangement with the city has long past, he said,

All four houses were built between 1900 and 1918. At one time, there were supposedly antiques stored in the homes.

In a sanitation-related item, at the request of City Sanitarian Tom Holmes, the council also approved abating: 712 Holland St., Accumulation of refuse, owned by Justin Berger; 819 Pine St., Accumulation of refuse, owned by Derek James Daugherty; 819 Pine St., Motor vehicle nuisance, owned by Derek James Daugherty; 2001 Holland St.vMotor vehicle nuisance, owned by Armando Garcia; 2707 Morton St., Accumulation of refuse, owned by Thomas L. Pearson; 1113 9th St., Accumulation of refuse, owned by Al & Patricia Smith; and 421 Cedar St., Motor vehicle nuisance, owned by Pablo Martinez Lozano.

Holmes also showed a series of before-and-after slides demonstrating how several properties had been cleaned.