Before a fire badly damaged it in June 2016, the 5,248 square foot home on more than 5.4 acres at the end of this street in the McBurney Hills subdivision featured a 20-by-40 foot in-ground swimming pool and a commercial kitchen.
Perhaps no one is happier about the planned demolition than Mike Hoelscher, who lives diagonally across McBurney from the home and has been pressing the city for more than a year to remove the remains.
“I was initially concerned it was taking as long as it did for the investigation to be completed,” Hoelscher said. “More than anything, I’m glad action is finally taking place to remediate the land.”
On June 28, the local fire division was dispatched to the house fire and called Monroe to bring its ladder truck.
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“Upon arrival fire personnel confirmed a ‘working fire’ and initiated fire suppression efforts. Fire crews were on scene for approximately four hours trying to contain the fire. There was significant damage to the residence in excess of $400,000. No one was at home at the time of the fire,” then-Fire Chief Perry Gerome said in a June 2016 email.
Police investigators closed their investigation in August 2016.
“I’m surprised that hasn’t been torn down already,” Lebanon Police Chief Jeff Mitchell said in July.
The home owners had separated before the fire, and they are now divorced, according to court records.
Their lawyers have declined to comment, and they did not respond to requests for comment.
In March, the city filed a lawsuit in Lebanon Municipal Court to carry out the demolition. On Aug. 21, Magistrate Martin Hubbell ordered it, according to court records.
On July 31, Encompass Insurance posted a $61,000 bond to cover the demolition, but the owners and their lawyers “never moved forward quickly enough on finding a demolition contractor,” Law Director Mark Yurick said Friday.
Today, the city council is scheduled to discuss the proposed use of $40,000 from a city fund set aside for fire insurance to pay a contractor to demolish the damaged home and other structures. The pool is to be filled in.
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Once the work is done, the city would draw on the bond to replenish city coffers.
Yurick said the city was limited by property rights law in efforts to more quickly bring the property back into compliance with city code.
“At this point, government interference is warranted,” Yurick said.
The city council could vote on the demolition as soon as Sept. 12.
Once the council has approved it, work should begin within weeks “if not sooner,” Yurick said.
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