By BECKY KISER
Hays Post
A demolition permit was issued Nov. 30, 2016, for demolition and cleanup of the property at 3603 Vine Street in north Hays. Seven months later, “the property is in a very unstable and unsafe condition” according to the city of Hays.
The former Ambassador Hotel closed its doors Dec. 1, 2015, after several internal property maintenance issues. The property owner, ABEL Lodging of Dallas, chose to raze the structure for redevelopment.
Demolition work was expected to take six to eight weeks, as Carl Britz, owner of American Wrecking Services, told the city.
Little progress was noted by city staff and by March, 2017, the work had stopped for remediation of additional asbestos found in the building. 24/7 Enviro Solutions, the company hired by American Wrecking Services, was on site through March and into early April.
Since then, according to Hays Planning Inspection Enforcement Superintendent Jesse Rohr, very little if any rubble has been hauled from the site other than some scrap metal.
After seven months of “little progress and creation of a huge hazard,” staff began abatement under regulatory authority of the 2006 International Property Maintenance Code said Assistant City Manager Jacob Wood.
The situation will be presented to Hays city commissioners during their work session Thu., July 6, with a request to authorize a nuisance abatement of the property during the July 13 regular meeting. Staff has solicited proposals from various contractors and will make a determination of cost based on the amount of material left to abate after the statutorily-allowed, 10-day waiting period following formal action.
“The best course of action is for the contractor and the property owner to get the work done before we come in,” Wood said. “They still will have a little bit of time. This (abatement) process is not a quick process … it’ll be July 24 before the city would start on the process in hiring a contractor.”
“Hopefully, between now and then they can get more work done and start hauling some of that stuff off,” Wood added.
Any costs incurred by the city due to the abatement process would be charged as a lien against the real estate upon which the structure is located.
The city commission will look at another proposed abatement tonight, that of an inoperable vehicle located at 414 E 7th Street.
Also on the agenda is an overview of the draft 2018 budget by City Manager Toby Dougherty.
In other business, City Attorney John Bird will discuss proposed increases for seat belt fines and municipal court costs.
The complete agenda may be seen here.
The work session begins at 6:30 p.m. tonight in Hays City Hall, 1507 Main.