Red Bank Police Chief Tim Christol poses with a future recruit - the son of Mayor John Roberts
photo by Gail Perry
Officials in Red Bank have been working to improve the city with measures to attract and accommodate new businesses and new housing developments. Another tactic is condemning structures that do not meet city codes and which are considered a danger to citizens. At the commission meeting Nov. 1 a house at 140 Alden Ave. was condemned allowing the city to demolish it if the owner does not act before. At the meeting Tuesday night, two more houses were determined to be a danger and of no value and were also condemned.
At the condemnation hearing, Public Works Director Tim Thornbury told City Attorney Arnold Stulce that he had begun to work with the owner in 2012 for cleaning up the property that consists of three houses on one parcel of land.
One house at 439 Bank St. is occupied, while two others that sit on the back of the property are dilapidated and not fit for human habitation, said Mr. Thornbury. Soon after contacting the owner, she died and left the property to her husband, who then died, leaving the land and the three structures to their sons. When Mr. Thornbury met with one of the sons he agreed that the condition of the two unoccupied houses was beyond repair, but there was a delay for finding money to do the demolition.
The owners of the property made a request to postpone the condemnation because there is a contract pending to sell the property. On Tuesday, Mr. Thornbury contacted the owner and the buyer and was told that it was being resold to a third party. Sunny Anand, who will be the final owner, was notified of the meeting, as well, and told Mr. Thornbury he had plans to tear down all three buildings and has a different use for the land. Nobody with interest in the property appeared at the meeting despite being personally notified.
Testimony was given by Mr. Thornbury, Stan Knight, Red Bank’s codes enforcement officer, and Thomas Retseck, consulting engineer, about the condition of the houses. Mr. Retseck said they were originally built with salvaged materials and were substandard to begin with. They now have collapsing walls and roofs, no windows or electricity and failed plumbing. Both are in an advanced state of deterioration and have no value. Additionally, there is no driveway or sidewalk to get to them.
Vice Mayor Eddie Pierce made a motion that requires the owner to demolish what is left of the buildings by 60 days from Nov. 16. If it is not done by the owner, then the city will do the work and claim a lien for the cost against the property. The commissioners gave unanimous approval of the motion.
The fall leaf season is here and the Red Bank commissioners approved contracting with Total Resource, Inc. for temporary labor and service for leaf removal. City Manager Randall Smith said contracting the work has been done successfully for many years and prevents the public works department from hiring temporary employees who would later need to be laid off. Leaf removal will begin Dec.1 and continue through February.
Earlier this year, Red Bank renovated the Robert Kenneth Buchanan Municipal Swimming pool and invested $100,000 for a new liner. Water loss was not stopped by the liner so more extensive research discovered the problem was from a 60-year-old cast iron drain pipe leak. Because the new liner must be kept wet, when the water loss became significant City Manager Smith authorized an emergency repair by Chase Reline, Inc., to fix the leak. The commissioners ratified that expense and amended the budget so the work can be paid for.
Commissioner Rick Causer thanked the Red Bank Fire Department for their help in assisting neighboring communities with fighting the recent wildfires. He said that Hamilton County is under an open burn ban and that residents should heed the warning.
Commissioner Ed LeCompte announced that the Red Bank Christmas festival and parade is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 3, from 10 a.m.–10 p.m. The actual parade will begin at 11 a.m. City Manager Smith asked those in the audience to notify friends who might want to participate in the parade to get in touch with Ruth Rohen at city hall. As of now, only four applications have been turned in.