BOARD OF WORKS: Middlebury Street house deemed unsafe

Apr. 11—GOSHEN — A home near Chamberlain Elementary School is expected to be demolished soon.

The Goshen City Board of Public Works and Safety reviewed an unsafe building at 205/207 Middlebury St. owned by landlord Ron Davidhizar Monday and affirmed that the home, owned by him for 50 years, was unsafe and should be torn down.

"This house has no record of ever being legally rented," board member Mike Landis said. "He can say that it was, but that doesn't mean that it was... the reason we're here isn't because the house could never be repaired... We're here to try to determine whether the history of no action being taken on this property is enough to say that it's a public nuisance."

Goshen Building Department Residential Inspector Travis Eash inspected the property Feb. 29. He said, among numerous problems with the structures on the property, that the home's foundation is compromised and some parts have collapsed. He also noted that there is no working heating system, plumbing or water system.

The garage has a large hole in the roof and the structure is accessible to animals and contains a large amount of feces. Some of the bricks have begun falling off. No permits have been pulled for 20 years, and there has been no water to the property since at least 2007, which is as far back as the water department's records go, and it has never been listed as a rental property.

"Back in 2014, there was an order for repair on this property that has never taken place," Eash added. "There's not been any initiative from the owner for at least those 10 years, maybe longer. There's been orders that have been ignored."

The home is actually near Davidhizar's own home. Davidhizar said when he bought the outbuilding on the property he'd been told it used to be a fire station but had been used by the former owners to store hay and feed for their farm.

He said he would like it to be a workshop with storage upstairs, and that the home would continue to function as a duplex with at least two bedrooms each.

"You should not be under the impression that it stood empty for all those years, that is not true," Davidhizar said, claiming it's been occupied for most of the 50 years he's owned.

Estimates around 10 years ago indicated the property would cost over $100,000 to repair, but Davidhizar said he didn't agree.

Davidhizar also said the electricity was on in the workshop, but after a tree limb tore down the electrical wire about three years ago, the utilities to the home were shut off awaiting repairs. He also denied that the home didn't have plumbing, noting that some of the plumbing fixtures we missing but the pipes were intact, and that one of the duplexes has a new unused furnace installed about six years ago.

"I am convinced that both buildings are solid and tearing them down would be unfortunate," Davidhizar said during the hearing.

He acknowledged that the home needs a new roof soon, but aside from maintenance, not much has been done.

Davidhizar said a few years ago when the property went into receivership, a contractor didn't follow through, so his team did patchwork and painted. They also repaired broken windows at the time and installed an egress window with the hopes of creating a basement bedroom. At the time, he said, there weren't serious structural problems, but the team did repair foundation cracks.

"Why would we think — it's been sitting there for 20 years — what would make us believe that all of a sudden you're going to start doing things to this building that has sat empty for the years you have owned it?" Board Member Barb Swartley questioned.

Davidhizar told her he went to the building department three times around two years ago to request an electrical permit after the tree tore the wires down and was denied.

"It's not from lack of trying," he said. He told them that without electricity he would need battery-operated tools, which he doesn't have, and therefore work couldn't be done. Landis argued he could have purchased a generator.

Board member Orv Myers asked about a time frame.

Davidhizar suggested he could get the work done in 6-8 months.

"This house is beautiful," board member Mary Nichols said. "It's a historical home and it's been beautiful the 50 years you've owned it and there's been a school across the street since that school was built. All of those things that you said are why you wanted to have it have been true for decades and it should have been done decades ago, and it wasn't. If we're just strictly taking Mr. Davidhizar's plea to make this house habitable, it could have happened years ago, at least to some degree. I'm not saying it had to be the Taj Mahal but it could have looked a heck of a lot better than this."

While a fine was an option as well, Landis wasn't thrilled with the idea, noting that Davidhizar has plenty of assets, enough to have brought in an attorney to argue the case at the board meeting.

"If the only thing that has any meaning is that the house disappears, then maybe that's enough to get some action to occur," he said.

Swartley agreed.

"It seems like it took this order to get Mr. Davihizar here to say 'I'm going to do this and I'm going to do that," Swartley said. "It's a lovely house. I would hate to have that house torn down, but there's nothing in my experience that Mr. Davidhizar indicates to me like 8 months is going to make any kind of difference in this home."

The board affirmed the unsafe building order of the commissioner and gave Davidhizar six weeks to make alternative plans, sell, or demolish the property by May 21.

OTHER ITEMS:

* The board received one sealed quote for hydraulic extrication tools for the Goshen Fire Department. Impact Rescue of Indianapolis quoted $73,365.

* The board received two bids for the purchase and installation of a diesel generator set and automatic transfer switch for the Goshen Water & Sewer Department. Bids were provided by EPS Powersales out of Canal Winchester, Ohio for $52,947, and Elevated Power LLC of Mishawaka for $132,859.91.

* The board also awarded the bid for Steury Avenue and Lincoln Avenue reconstruction and drainage improvements to Niblock Excavating for $8,829,875.50 or 9,097,758 for the alternate bid as the lowest responsive and responsible bidder of the three that submitted. The number is still higher than the $8 million budget provided by the Goshen Redevelopment Commission, but at least $1.5 million less than the other two bids.

* The board approved a road closure for the 100 block of East Jefferson Street from 1-5 p.m. May 14 for a National Police Week ceremony in front of the Goshen Police Department. The ceremony will begin at 3 p.m. and the public is invited to attend.

* A partial sidewalk closure at 206 N. Main St. was also approved, for April 22-29 for removal of an awning and to change out of two second-story windows at the Democrat Building. All work will be done between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Scaffolding will be removed from the area overnight.

* Lane restrictions at Reliance Road from U.S. 33 to Peddlers Village Road and on Peddler's Village Road from C.R. 17 to Reliance Road from April 11 through May 3 were approved for the purpose of NIPSCO utility relocation. Access for residents, businesses, and the fire department will remain available.

Dani Messick is the education and entertainment reporter for The Goshen News. She can be reached at dani.messick@goshennews.com or at 574-538-2065.