61 Houses on Demolition List
May 15, 2012 CT

The city of Chillicothe is seeking grant funds to help pay for the demolition of up to 61 vacant and deteriorating houses, thus eliminating some safety hazards and community eyesores. City officials signed the necessary paperwork Monday evening, May 14, 2012, to proceed with the Community Development Block Grant application. If its funding request is completely fulfilled, the city could provide in-kind services amounting to around $46,000, and cash of $126,345, to remove the structures. The grant also requires property owners to pay $500 toward the demolition costs. Total project costs, including the grant funding, would amount to nearly $330,000.

The 61 structures were placed on the list of potential properties to be demolished because they may have collapsing roofs, foundation problems, windows missing and other conditions that make the structures unsafe, according to City Administrator Ike Holland. All of the 61 houses identified for possible demolition have been vacant for at least a year, said Tammy Venneman, assistant code enforcement officer. Some of the structures on the list are being addressed administratively through the nuisance courts; however, some property owners are unable to pay for necessary improvements.

Notification of the grant award is anticipated in October; however, the city plans to move forward in the near future to remove the worst structures. Holland said that he would like to see demolition of the worst houses within the next month or two. The city applied for a similar grant last year to raze uninhabitable structures, including the old Leeper hotel building in downtown, but was not awarded funding. The city, however, proceeded this year to fund the Leeper's demolition, which is already taking place.

The grant application was among several items discussed during the council's regular meeting Monday evening at City Hall. After considerable discussion, primarily involving the way bid specs were written, the city awarded Chip Webb Construction the bid for replacing the Danner Park maintenance building. The structure was substantially damaged by fire last year. Chip Webb Construction submitted the low bid at $35,962. Because there had been several delays before the city awarded the contract, the contractor said he would be unable to start on the project until the end of July.

City Targets Vacant Houses for Demolition
April 24, 2012

The city of Chillicothe is moving forward with plans to tear down unoccupied dilapidated houses that are not only eyesores in community neighborhoods, but structures that pose safety threats. From a list of around 60 addresses, the city has identified the 10 worst, and plans to move forward with their removal. Many of the structures remaining on the list will be placed on the city's application for a community development block grant that, if approved, would financially assist with the city with demolition.

Chillicothe City Council members on Monday evening, April 23, 2012, conducted a workshop meeting dedicated solely to the discussion of housing demolition. They reviewed the list and were in general agreement to proceed with the grant application, and to also move forward in taking down the 10 worst houses. These would be ones that are identified as having irreparable foundation, roof and wall problems.

During the regular council meeting, which followed the workshop, the council approved several ordinances and resolutions dealing with the CDBG demolition grant application. Among those, were ordinances establishing housing demolition grant guidelines, compliance with OSHA requirements, and authorizing the mayor and city clerk to execute documents related to the grant. Resolutions approved stated the intent to seek funding, attention to residential anti-displacement and relocation assistance plan, and information regarding excessive force in the process. The grant is similar to the one which the city applied for last year but was not approved for funding.

City Pursues Grant to Raze Dilapidated Structures
April 10, 2012 CT

The city of Chillicothe will, once again, pursue grant funds to assist property owners in tearing down dilapidated homes. The council gave approval for the city to apply for funds through the Community Development Block Grant program. The city had applied for CDBG funds last year and, although ranking high in the selection process, the city was denied the funding.

City Clerk Roze Frampton said that Chillicothe's chances for funding this year may increase because the city has already set aside complete funds for tearing down the Leeper hotel building (which was a big dollar item in last year's grant application), and is being proactive in addressing some of the worst dilapidated structures on its own. The city has $129,000 set aside this year for demolition projects. Around 40 homes were listed as being eligible for demolition last year. A workshop will be held in the coming weeks to discuss how to pursue plans for demolishing deteriorating structures.

In action related to the CDBG grant application, the council agreed to set the participation fee at $500, which is the same amount as last year's fee, for residents wishing to participate in the grant program. According to the ordinance, the city will match the $500 per residential structure paid by the homeowner to participate in the CDBG program. If approved, the grant would fund the remainder of the demolition costs. The city plans to set the fee at 20 percent of demolition cost per commercial structure as the property owner's fee required to participate in the grant program. The city would perform in-kind work, including disconnecting electric utilities, grading the lots, seeding and mulching the lot, and performing housing inspections.

The deadline to apply for the CDBG grant is May 15.

City Denied Demo Grant
11 16 11

The city of Chillicothe's hope to receive a $300,000 grant to demolish more than 40 dilapidated, vacant residential homes throughout the city (and the old Leeper hotel building) vanished after officials received notification that the city's application had been denied.

Notification came from the Department of Economic Development last week, stating that the city's application did not achieve a sufficient score to warrant recommendation of funding. The application was submitted last spring with 46 properties (including the old Leeper building) identified as being in need of demolition.

The total project cost of demolition was estimated at $474,506. If approved, the grant would have paid $300,000, the homeowners would have paid $21,500 (at a rate of $500 per structure), with the city paying the remaining cost of $153,006. The city's share would have been broken down into $117,225 in cash and $35,781 of in-kind labor.

Chillicothe Mayor Chuck Haney said he was disappointed that the city's application was denied and said that the city planned to look into other options for taking care of some of the city's dilapidated structures. The city's current budget has set aside $200,000 for the demolition of the Leeper building.

Grant Would Help Clean Town
By Catherine Stortz Ripley, Constitution-Tribune
April 27, 2011

C-T Photo / Catherine Stortz Ripley

CAPTION: Dilapidated structures, such as this one on the north side of Third Street, would be demolished if the city of Chillicothe is awarded a $300,000 grant. The demolition project calls for razing around 46 vacant residential structures throughout town.

The city of Chillicothe hopes to receive a $300,000 grant that would help demolish more than 40 dilapidated vacant residential homes throughout the city and the old Leeper hotel building. Chillicothe City Council members on Monday approved the necessary paperwork to proceed on the grant application with assistance from Green Hills Regional Planning Commission.

Forty-five residential structures and one commercial structure (the old Leeper hotel building at the northwest corner of Washington and Clay streets) are included in the grant application. Of the 46 total properties, the city has secured 44 signed consent forms from the property owners and the remaining two were expected by the end of this week.

The total project cost of demolition is estimated at $474,506. If approved, the grant would pay $300,000, the homeowners would pay $21,500 (at a rate of $500 per structure), with the city paying the remaining cost of $153,006. The city’s share would be broken down into $117,225 in cash and $35,781 of in-kind labor.

City Engineer Ron Urton said he expected notification of the grant award in September or October. Structures must have been vacant for one year prior to demolition in order to have been considered for grant funding. The structures not only create neighborhood eyesores but also present potential hazards.

If the grant does not materialize for Chillicothe, the next course of action could be for the city to send letters to the property owners stating that they need to either rehabilitate their structures or demolish them. If the property owners fail to comply, then the city could take legal action by having the city condemn the property and the city pay the full cost of demolition. The costs, then, could be attached to the property and must be paid with property taxes. The cost of demolition for an average residential structure is between $5,000 and $6,000, Urton said.

If the grant is approved, grant funds would pay for 80 percent of the demolition cost for the Leeper hotel building, with the city (which owns the building) paying 20 percent. The total demolition cost is estimated at $175,000 and the city’s portion would be $35,000.

The city's in-kind segment of the demolition project involves the disconnection of electric lines and inspections as well as the seeding and mulching of the properties after the structures are removed.