Council declares 207 A Ave abandoned, orders boarding and vehicle removal

City Manager Josh Walker briefed the council on property records and recent occupancy at 207 A Ave, saying that after review the City determined the recorded owner had died years earlier and no legal inheritor has come forward. Walker said there had been “a long line of squatters just handing the property off to each other since approximately 2001,” and that the City would not restore utilities until ownership is resolved or the County forecloses.

Following that update, the council voted to declare the property a nuisance and approved summary abatement measures, including boarding the dwelling and towing abandoned vehicles to the city yard for storage or scrap. Councilor Brad Smith moved to declare the property a nuisance and Councilor Bill Williams seconded; later Smith moved to approve the abatement steps and Councilor Sue Holliday seconded both motions; the minutes record that “All were in favor, motion passed.”