Council declares house at 631 South 9th Avenue unsafe and authorizes city demolition if owner fails to comply

The Broken Bow City Council voted July 14 to declare the house at 631 South 9th Avenue unsafe and authorized the city to demolish the structure if the property owner does not meet the conditions of a demolition permit.

The council opened a public hearing on the property at 7:04 p.m. and closed it at 7:09 p.m. City records in the meeting record show the property owner had purchased a demolition permit on July 14 that requires demolition work to begin within 60 days of issuance and to be completed within 120 days.

Moved by Holcomb and seconded by Miller, the motion to declare the property unsafe and to authorize the city to begin demolition if the owner failed to comply passed by roll call vote. Councilmembers Holcomb, Schmidt and Miller voted aye; Councilman Myers recorded an abstention.

Under the motion, if demolition has not been started within 61 days the City will begin demolition; likewise, if demolition is not completed by 121 days the City will complete it and assess the demolition costs to the property owner, per the motion’s terms recorded in the meeting minutes.

The decision follows the public hearing and was recorded as part of routine code-enforcement proceedings; the transcript does not report additional testimony, estimated demolition costs, or a timeline for when the city would schedule work if the owner fails to act.