18 - Forgiving certain civil penalties on the property located at 1633 W. Henderson

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Item No. 18 Memorandum TO: Mayor, Mayor Pro -Tem & City Council Grayson Path, City Manager FROM: Stephanie H. Harris, City Attorney SUBJECT: Proposed forgiveness of civil penalties on property located at 1633 W. Henderson Street DATE: December 13, 2021 BACKGROUND: In December of 2013, the Building Standards Commission issued an order of demolition on a residential structure located at 1633 W. Henderson Street, which order included the automatic assessment of civil penalties in the amount of $1,000.00 per day if the work was not completed within 30 days. The owner, failed to demolish the structure within the 30 days however, did demolish within 33 days of the entry of the order. There is, accordingly, a dangerous structure lien on the property in that amount that has accrued interest making the total due as of this writing $33,000.00. The owner would now like to sell it. Unfortunately, the order for civil penalties is still attached to the property, and between the date the civil penalties began accruing and the date of demolition, civil penalties in the amount of $33,000.00 had accrued plus 10% compounding interest, which is far in excess of the value of the property, listed by the Lamar County Appraisal district at $1,650.00. STATUS OF ISSUE: The owner has asked that the city forgive the civil penalties and interest accrued on the property so that he might sell it. There is a public purpose in forgiving the civil penalties in that doing so will allow sale of the property to an owner who can maintain the existing property, maintain or increase its taxable value, and thus contribute to the well-being of this neighborhood. The owner will pay all other nuisance abatement liens on the property. BUDGET: No discernable impact; council would be forgiving thousands of dollars in penalties and interest, but those penalties and interest would be next to impossible to collect given how many times they exceed the value of the property itself. RECOMMENDATION: Move to approve a resolution forgiving civil penalties in the amount of $33,000.00 plus interest on the property located at 1633 W. Henderson Street.