Morgan City council approves house demolition

The City Council accepted going ahead with demolishing a Dale Street house, which has been in disrepair for several years, by July 1 if all the improvements to the property specified are not made.
At Tuesday’s city council meeting, the council approved a resolution to give the city authority to move forward to demolishing the structure.
At April’s council meeting, the council accepted that all of the deficiencies at the house located at 1821 Dale St. in Morgan City, as listed by Planning and Zoning Director Anthony Governale, must be completed within 61 days of receipt of a letter by all owners of the property, or the city will move forward with demolishing the house.
On April 28, the city sent four letters to the property owners including two banks, Governale said.
Avis Clemons, one of the owners of the property, told Governale she was going to address issues with concrete at the house and pin up the structure on the back porch, he said. However, as of Tuesday, nothing had been fixed or improved on the property, Governale said. None of the property owners were present at Tuesday’s council meeting.
Also in April, Governale said issues with the property began in 2009 with tall grass. A diseased tree fell on the property in 2012, he said.
Governale said Clemons claimed to own 100 percent of the property, but the records Governale obtained showed her ex-husband, Don Clemons, owns the home in addition to two banks. Both Avis and Don Clemons have an address listed in Stone Mountain, Ga.
In July 2013, the city sent a letter to the owners expressing city’s intent to condemn the house, Governale said.
In other business, the council:
—Accepted the Shrimp & Petroleum Festival’s request to approve its schedule and traffic accommodations during festival hours. That approval included closing Federal Avenue on both sides from Greenwood Street to the south side of the U.S. onramp and to use Greenwood Street to Third Street for festival vendors arriving.
—Approved Jerry T. Hebert, president of World Missions, to hold free tennis lessons at Lawrence Park for ages 5 to 18 from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. July 7, July 9, July 14 and July 16.
—Approved a resolution rejecting the bid tabulations for Phase VIII the Roadway Repairs and Improvements project. The project will have to be re-bid and advertised, Public Works Director Mike Loupe said.
—Approved a resolution for change order to the city’s potable water storage tank roofing project at no additional cost.
—Approved a Mosquito Control Cooperative Endeavor Agreement with the City of Baton Rouge. The agreement would allow the city to use Baton Rouge’s equipment if the need arises, Grizzaffi said.
—Approved a resolution to sign a cooperative endeavor agreement with the St. Mary Levee District for the levee district to be the non-federal sponsor for levees as it relates to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Town of Berwick already passed the same resolution at its June council meeting.
—Approved the finance committee’s recommendations to allocate $20,554 from the sewer capital additions and contingency funds to purchase a new Ford F-150 pick-up truck for the water, sewer and gas department, and to reallocate $9,000 budgeted to purchase a hydraulic breaker in the public works department toward the purchase of two Scag mowers at a price of $19,358.40.