>> MILLEDGEVILLE
A long-simmering dispute between a property owner and the city of Milledgeville has heated up again, as the city initiated a legal proceeding seeking demolition of a downtown building.
A Petition to Abate Nuisance was filed April 13, by attorneys representing Milledgeville, seeking to have the building located at 107 and 115 S. Wayne St. torn down due to its “dangerous and hazardous condition.” The lawsuit filed in the Municipal Court of Milledgeville asks the court to order the owner to demolish the structure or, upon its failure to do so, authorize the city to do so at the owner’s expense with a lien to be put on the property.
A hearing on the petition and the city’s requests has been set for June 7.
The problem dates back one month shy of five years, as the roof of the building collapsed May 28, 2018. The structure, owned by All-Star Properties and Investments LLC, with Larry Simmons as its registered agent, has been vacant since and barricaded by a fence along the sidewalk. The city erected the fence out of concern for passersby, some of whom cut through the building as a shortcut. Reimbursement of that expense, among other costs, is requested in the petition to have the building removed.
At the time the roof collapsed, the building was vacant. City Manager Hank Griffeth said no one had used the building for two years before the collapse but that a business owner who planned to move in was actually there the day the roof fell in. Fortunately, there were no injuries, Griffeth recalled.
According to a certified letter dated Aug. 10, 2018, from city attorney D. James Jordan, Simmons and the LLC were reminded of previous communications between the parties and noted nothing had been done by the owner in the 2.5 months since the roof failure.
“The building in its current state of disrepair is a violation of multiple sections of the City’s Code of Ordinance and represents a serious threat to the health and safety of the public for which you and your company are responsible,” the letter states.
Despite that letter sent more than 4.5 years ago, nothing has been done by the property owner to repair or improve the building, and despite that lack of action, Griffeth said he thought the matter had been resolved between Simmons and city officials in September of 2021.
“We actually went to mediation with the guy,” the city manager said this past Tuesday, “not court-ordered mediation, but voluntary mediation.”
Griffeth said those present worked most of the day, and he, the mayor and council thought an agreement had been reached.
“We were offering to loan him money out of the city’s economic development loan fund in order to clean up and stabilize his property. We left that day thinking we had an agreement,” Griffeth said. “Mayor and council approved it, but we never heard back from the property owner and haven’t heard from him since.”
Griffeth explained the civil action must originate in the city’s municipal court “because it is based on a city ordinance, and anything prosecuted based on a city ordinance has to initially go through Municipal Court.”
He added, however, that the defendant/respondent can request that the matter be transferred to Superior Court as a matter of right. At that June 7 hearing, Municipal Court Judge David McRee could potentially issue a ruling immediately.
“The judge can approve the petition to abate right off the bat and order the property owner to pay the city to clean it up, which would give the city a lien on the property,” Griffeth said.
Or, he added, the judge could give the property owner a certain amount of time to begin his efforts. Griffeth also noted the property owner could show up and request the case be transferred to Superior Court.
The petition noted that in 2021-22, the city was made aware of further deterioration of the structure that posed a greater threat to public safety and took action to reinforce fencing and barricades.
“As of the filing of this petition, neither defendants Larry Simmons nor All-Star Properties and Investments LLC have made any attempts or efforts to secure the structure and protect the public from the dangerous and hazardous condition of the dilapidated structure,” the document reads. “These defendants have failed to abate the public nuisance created by the dilapidated condition of the structure.”
The filing includes a statement that the present value of the building is being appraised by a certified real estate appraiser, and the petition will be amended to reflect that. Further, a licensed professional engineer has estimated a cost of $390,500 to properly repair the building to meet the minimum requirements of the city. Considering the value of the land, the petition alleges, “the cost of repair in relation to the present value of the building is not reasonable.”
Griffeth said the city just wants to be able to protect its interests.
“We’re trying to get in a position where the city will be able to clean up the property, get it stabilized and then be able to take a lien on the property; then when he doesn’t pay the city back, since we abated the nuisance, we will be able to foreclose on the lien.”