Dayton picking up pace on vacant home demolitions

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By Joanne Huist Smith, Staff Writer 3:15 AM Thursday, December 3, 2009

DAYTON — City officials expect to fall short on an ambitious plan to demolish 500 vacant structures this year.

Michael Cromartie, the city’s acting director of the Department of Building Services, said the holdup in demolition was strictly a timing issue because of how federal Neighborhood Stabilization Grant funds were allocated.

“The bulk of the money is being spent now,” he said. “We’ve instructed contractors to get as much of the work done this year as possible.”

Cromartie gave the Dayton City Commission an overview of the department’s proposed 2010 budget on Wednesday, Dec. 2.

He also spoke of the department’s 2009 accomplishments, including the razing of as many as 420 foreclosed, blighted or abandoned nuisance structures. That figure compares to 300 in 2008 and 131 in 2007.

Unlike many city departments, Building Services isn’t facing a major staff reduction in 2010.

“We are very fortunate. We are not facing personnel reductions because, right now, demolition is a priority,” Cromartie said.

A major change for the department coming in 2010 is a streamlined permitting process for contractors.

Tentative recommendations to accomplish that task will be announced about Dec. 18.

In other Commission business:

• The city’s approximately 50,000 sewer customers will be paying 3.5 percent more in fees beginning in January.

For the average residential customer, the increase will cost a little more than $2 per quarter, said Matthew T. Carpenter, the city’s deputy director of the water department.

The Commission unanimously approved the increase Wednesday, Dec. 2. Commissioner Nan Whaley was not present at the meeting.

Sewer bills are based on water consumption, but actual water rates will not go up as a result of the fee hike.

Carpenter said the increase will generate about $1 million a year to fund operations and improvements to the wastewater system.

Consumers will continue to get a 5 percent discount on bills paid within 14 days, Carpenter said.

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