The Plant City Commission voted unanimously Nov. 24, to approve the condemnation of the building at 709 N. Evers Street, which was significantly damaged in a fire 10 years ago.
When the house was appraised in April 2014, it was determined that it would take $115,000 to repair the house to the point that it would meet the city code’s minimum requirements. After these repairs, the house would be worth $145,000.
Because the cost to repair the house would be more than 50% of the potential value of the house after repairs, Building Division officials issued a notice and order of condemnation in September. The order required the property owners to demolish the house by Oct. 23, but the house still stands today.
In a letter to Mayor Rick Lott Nov. 19, Nita Shaw, of the owning family, requested an extension on the deadline for demolishing the house so her daughter could purchase the property and fix it up.
“When we purchased N. Evers property … this property was like a beautiful, and dying, ‘old lady,’” Shaw wrote. “I immediately fell in love with her.”
Shaw’s children, who were adults by this time, helped Shaw and her husband, Lowell, with restoration and maintenance on the building and property. But, in June 2004, just six months after the remodeling was complete, a fire damaged most of the building, while Nita and Lowell were on vacation in Alaska.
Coni Wilkerson, Nita’s daughter, apologized for the fire, to her father and other attendees of the Nov. 24 commission meeting.
“It is my fault that the house burned,” she said, in tears.
She said that because she runs four businesses, it has been difficult for her to find time to repair the home. She offered a folder of documents to the city clerk for public record, showing the work that the family has done on the house or hired local professionals to do. She also has raised about $1,000 through fundraisers.
“It’s not much, but it’s a start. Like I said, my children did grow up in that home,” she said. “I’ve been working around the clock.”
Neighbors of the home also offered their insight on the situation during the corresponding quasi-judicial public hearing at the meeting.
Stephen Zarycki and his family moved into a house on North Evers Street 10 years ago.
“The burned-out structure was there at the time, and I believed that it was going to be demolished within one or two years,” Zarycki said. “It’s a home to nothing more than rodents, roaches, termites and transients.”
Joyce Nestor is another resident who lives near the house.
“My husband and I have spent tens of thousands of dollars maintaining and restoring and keeping our 100-and-plus-year-old home beautiful, and it’s an embarrassment to us and all of our neighbors to have that sitting on our street,” Nestor said.
Commissioners resolved the building’s deterioration, structural defects and improper design were dangerous to surrounding buildings and their occupants. Also included in the resolution was the conclusion that the Shaws did not show adequate evidence that the building does not constitute a nuisance as defined in the Plant City Code.
If the Shaws do not demolish the building by Dec. 24, 2014, the city manager will select an independent contractor to complete the task.
“Sometimes this commission has to take items that are hard, and deal with them,” Lott said. “But when we’re elected to office, we’re supposed to do what the law allows us to do, and that’s exactly what you’ve witnessed here tonight.”
Capital Improvements
Commissioners also approved a resolution to incorporate a schedule of projects for fiscal years 2015 to 2019, into the annual update of the city’s Capital Improvements Element, developed by the Hillsborough County City-County Planning Commission.
The CIE is required to be updated annually. This year’s update includes 14 projects related to stormwater, potable water, sanitary sewer and transportation, totaling $10.7 million. The largest focus is on the city’s sanitary sewer program, to which 65% of the funds will be allocated.
FDOT also has plans for transportation improvements, which the state department will fund. These projects will total $117.1 million.
The update includes a list of improvements at Hillsborough County Public Schools, and most schools in or near Plant City have projects scheduled within the next four years. All projects are contingent upon available funding at the times they are scheduled.
Most of the school projects relate to asphalt repairs and painting. Other improvements include: installation of a new roof at Jackson Elementary School (2014-2015); replacement of the telephone system at Plant City High School (2015-2016); and addition of a walkway canopy at Turkey Creek Middle School (2017-2018).
In Other News
• An emergency contract of $70,385 was awarded to Wetherington Contracting Inc., for repairs to the sanitary sewer main on Barrett Avenue, after utilities staff determined Nov. 5, that the main had collapsed.
• Commissioners approved the following reappointments: Harold Falls to the Hillsborough County Citizens Environmental Advisory Committee Board; Matthew Buzza and Steve Boggs to the City of Plant City Planning Board; and David Miller to the Board of Adjustment Board. Don Walden of the Citizen’s Advisory Committee Board does not wish to be reappointed, so this position is open for applications.
Contact Catherine Sinclair at csinclair@plantcityobserver.com.
