Starke County Council Approves Unsafe Building Demolition Money

Posted on Author WKVI

starke-county-courthouseThe Starke County Plan Commission can now enforce demolition orders for dilapidated properties after the county council appropriated $20,000 for that purpose. Plan Commission President Dennis Estok told them the county already has a process in place.

“We have a public hearing with these people, and then we give an order whether to rehab that house or to demolish it. If it’s too far gone, we want it demolished. They have X amount of days to do it. Now I can tell you right now I’ve been sitting on planning for five years. I bet you we’ve had a handful out of probably 200 cases that have actually done something on their own. So basically if they don’t do it, by law we can go in there and take care of the problem,” Estok said. Until now, funds have not been available for the plan commission to carry out demolition orders, some of which date back to 2006. Continue reading →

Starke County Commissioners Approve Seed Demolition Money

Posted on Author WKVI
Starke County Courthouse
Starke County Courthouse

The Starke County Plan Commission is cracking down on enforcement of unsafe and blighted buildings. President Dennis Estok told the county commissioners they’ve restructured their enforcement letters and means of taking owners to court but still have a backlog of structures that need to be torn down.

“You’ve got to have some seed money, because if they don’t do it you can go in there and take care of these unsafe structures,” Estok said. “Then basically what you do is you fine them, and you bill them. If they don’t pay the bill, then you put a special assessment on their taxes. You wind up getting the property, and then you re-sell the property to try to recoup some of your cost.” Continue reading →