MORGANTOWN — “We’re working on it.”
Lifelong Osage resident Dolly King said that’s the typical response she receives whenever she asks the county what’s being done about the building crumbling in the middle of her once bustling community.
It’s an eyesore she faces every time she steps out her front door.
“I see it every single day, and it stinks,” King said. “And they know me, because I’m on the phone all the time about this, but it seems like they don’t want to do anything.”
King went on to explain that a large dumpster was placed across from the Scotts Run Road property a couple months back. Osage residents believed it was a sign that the cleanup was about to begin. Instead, the dumpster sat empty — until people began throwing trash it in. Now it sits in the middle of the community half-filled with garbage.
That also stinks, King said.
The crumbling building — complete with beams perched atop a nearby power line and bricks balanced above the sidewalk — is next to Al Anderson’s shoe repair shop and neighboring apartment.
Anderson, another lifelong resident who’s known as Osage’s unofficial mayor, is pretty blunt in his assessment of why the building is allowed to sit in its current condition despite the obvious hazards.
“I’ll tell you flat out, and this is a quote. If this was going on anywhere other than Osage, it would have never gotten to be like this,” Anderson said. “I know they’ve been called and called and called. Something needs to happen.”
According to Monongalia County Litter Control Agent Tim Fitchett, something is happening. He said the county is in the process of dealing with the property.
According to King, Anderson, Fitchett and the Monongalia County Parcel Viewer website, the property is owned by Steve Morris. The Dominion Post was unable to get in contact with Morris in time for this report.
Fitchett said Morris was notified of the issues with the property via certified mail more than 30 days ago. Based on the recommendation of the county’s Abandoned and Dilapidated Property Enforcement Agency, the matter will now go before the Monongalia County Commission, which can move the issue to the “complaint” stage for 60 days, during which the owner will be put on notice that legal ramifications will follow.
After that, fines of $100/day can be levied for 90 days before the county ultimately would ask a judge to grant the county authority to sell the property at auction.
Fitchett said that he began researching the property and reached out to Morris once he was made aware of the building’s condition and verified its owner.
He said he knows the wheels don’t turn fast, but they are turning.
“This process is just time consuming, and we have to go through this process step by step,” Fitchett said. “You can’t rush it and you can’t skip any of these steps.”
