ABOVE: A property at 1524 Albion Avenue is now set up to go through the demolition process after the Fairmont City Council on Monday approved a consent agreement with the property representative.

FAIRMONT– In an effort to remove blight from the community, the Fairmont City Council on Monday approved moving ahead with demolition of a property at 1524 Albion Avenue.

Community Development Director Pat Oman said that since the summer of 2024 community development staff have been working on addressing issues with the vacant house and commercial building.

“It’s located near a restaurant, near a daycare facility, near a hospital and a lot of residential communities. It’s been a property with significant blight,” Oman said.

He said that the city’s building official has also assessed the property and has certified the house as uninhabitable. However the current city ordinance doesn’t really address the issue efficiently. As it stands, the city’s nuisance ordinance only focuses on three items: grass growing too high, junk and the smell of manure. The city is currently working on updating the ordinance.

On Monday Oman said the council was being asked to develop a consent agreement with the current owner and representative. He further explained that the consent agreement would allow for an agreement between the city, the property owner and property representative for the city to enter the property and put together a bid to demolish the building, which would be overseen by the public works department. It would be funded for with demolition dollars.

“The cost of that would be placed as a lien on the property and what you would have is a vacant lot with that lien cost for the demolition on the property. When there’s a sale of that property that would be paid for by the sale,” Oman explained.

However, he expressed confidence that the value of the property will fund the debt and that another benefit is having a vacant lot instead of a blighted lot.

“I think it’s something that not only the city council, but that the community will like to see,” Oman said.

Council member Jay Maynard, who covers that ward, said that he heard concerns about the lot from constituents when he was campaigning several years ago.

“I am pleased that we are finally able to do something about it,” Maynard said.

Mayor Lee Baarts asked a question about the bid process and whether it would come back to council for approval. Public Works Director Matthew York said that it would be based on the purchasing policy so that if it’s over $25,000 it will come back to the council for approval.

Oman stressed that the partnership between the property owner and property representative and the city is vital and that taking a solution-based approach is key.

“There is a pathway from a health and safety standpoint through the building codes to address the building through a legal means but that is complicated and has a cost to it,” Oman said. “The method that we reviewed is one where we’re partnering with the owner of the property. They understand it can be better and want it to be better.”

Oman said that this property is one of about a dozen others that are vacant and are likely beyond the point of being rehabilitated. They will each need to go through an inspection process and be dealt with individually as some may be owner occupied and some may be rental properties.

Addressing blight is important not just from a health and safety standpoint, but from a community perspective as well.

“When people are looking to move here and they’re driving around doing windshield surveys, if they see a number of dilapidated houses… it gives the reputation that we’re not regulating and setting expectations. It also has an affect on the property values,” Oman said.

From an economic development standpoint, he said that companies consider what a community and its housing is like before it moves a business to the area or relocates an employee to it.

Once demolished, the end product of the property at 1524 Albion Avenue will be a vacant lot that’s been seeded and ready for whatever’s next.

The council on Monday unanimously approved moving forward with authorizing a consent agreement for demolition of the house and commercial building at 1524 Albion Avenue.

Next, Oman will review the consent agreement with the property representative and proceed to the next steps. He is hopeful that the property will be taken care of this summer.