KINGWOOD — The Kingwood Condemnation Committee voted recently to proceed with action on five properties, including continuing efforts to identify the owner of one of them.
The committee prioritized the order in which to proceed with condemnation of the buildings.
The five are 110 Murdock St., 114 1/2 Chestnut St., 211 Jackson St., 169 N. Sigler St. and 142 S. Price St.
At the Dec. 3 meeting, the committee prioritized demolition in that order but put the 142 S. Price St. property, the former Sweet Annie’s business, on hold. Prioritization was based on fire, structural and safety issues.
There has been a problem determining who owns the Sweet Annie’s building. The committee suggested contacting the city attorney to ask how to proceed on Sweet Annie’s.
Mayor Jean Guillot, a member of the committee, said Monday that city attorney David Glover advised that Kingwood can go to Preston Circuit Court and plead that the building should be torn down because it is a public health hazard.
Preston County Health Department Administrator V.J. Davis inspected the buildings and provided his findings in a letter.
“The Preston County Health Department has determined that public health safety hazards and potential public health safety hazards exist at all of the above locations,” Davis wrote.
In addition to the mayor and Davis, the other members of the committee are Kingwood Volunteer Fire Department Chief Perry Barlow, Kingwood City Supervisor Bruce Pyles and Kathy Mace.
The committee agreed to suggest to city council that bids be sought on demolition of 110 Murdock St. and 169 N. Sigler St. as a single contract.
Kingwood Council has been discussing condemnation of the buildings for more than a year. Now that the condemnation committee has made its recommendation, council can take steps toward condemnation.
Among the health department’s findings on the structures were:
- 110 Murdock St. — roof missing, rafters exposed, doors missing, windows missing, structure in very poor repair, large amounts of debris, exposed electrical wires and old tires not stored properly.
- 114 1/2 Chestnut St. — roof in very poor repair, door and windows open, windows missing and broken, floors and walls collapsed, exposed insulation and ceiling collapsing.
- 211 Jackson St. — exposed wiring in electrical meter box, collapsed floor porch, block walls supporting porch seems in poor repair, overgrown vegetation around the structure, broken windows and rotten siding exposing opening in house.
- 169 N. Sigler St. — portion of roof missing, windows missing, overgrown vegetation, siding missing exposing openings in structure and windows broken.
- 142 S. Price St. — structure in very poor repair, floor inside building collapsed, porch collapsed and entire building leaning.
TWEET@DominionPostWV
