Sterling City Council increases demolition funds in 2013 budget

$35k approved to address Sterling's eyesores

In June, 2011 two columns in the Journal-Advocate condemned the conditions at 425 Lincoln St., now the empty lot pictured. Tuesday night, more than a year later, the city council voted to expand the 2013 demolition budget to better take action on the city's eyesores. (David Martinez/Journal-Advocate)

STERLING -- The Sterling City Council spent the bulk of their Tuesday night meeting focused on the city's proposed 2013 budget -- as was expected -- but more than a third of the discussion centered on a budget item that hadn't drawn debate in more than a year: the Public Works Administration's "demolition" budget.

Mayor Pro Tem Patrick Lawson addressed the budget item later in the debate, ultimately convincing council members to increase the item's proposed 2013 budget from $15,000 to $35,000. He had originally asked to increase the budget from $15,000 to $50,000.

The council later approved the entire proposed budget 7-0.

Several council members went on a bus tour about 15 months ago after the Journal-Advocate ran two columns condemning the conditions of a home at 425 Lincoln St. The columns said the home had been an "abandoned" "rotting hulk" for 20 years, argued that other lots had similar problems and accused to the council of being "irresolute" on the issue for several years.

The tour led to the discovery of 15 to 20 homes and buildings around Sterling that needed to be demolished or repaired, Lawson said.

City Manager Joe Kiolbasa said Lawson met with Sterling Public Works staff three or four months ago and that they decided the best time to address the issue would be at the budget meeting.

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"We're trying to get some of the ugliness out before we put in the beautiful," Lawson said.

Kiolbasa said the city traditionally gives owners of severely unkempt properties a "notice of dilapidation," saying they need to move out of and demolish the property. If the owners don't do it, the city does it.

Lawson said people don't do it on their own because they might put $75,000 to $85,000 into checking a property for asbestos and demolishing it, while they could only get $50,000 for selling the property itself. On the other hand, Kiolbasa mentioned after the meeting, the proposal presents a double-edged sword for the city as well.

"(Sterling) would be spending tax money to clean up the property," he said. "But then it's no longer on the tax rolls."

Still, City Attorney Curt Penny enthusiastically spoke in favor of the move, saying the demolitions are a "big picture" issue that warrant more than $50,000 in the budget.

"This has been a high priority (in my department) for 15 months," Penny said. "My staff have been very frustrated. If it's a high priority, it's your responsibility to address this."

But he and Kiolbasa admitted this was far from a Sterling-specific issue; it's statewide. Kiolbasa said a Colorado Municipal League conference about two years ago showed there was no direct solution to the issue.

Council members Randy Brigham and Dan Torres were suspicious of the specific $50,000 amount. Torres mentioned he'd like to hear a more solid projection from a realtor, and Brigham said the concept was fine, but thought $50,000 sounded like an "arbitrary number."

Lawson said he found that $50,000 covered the cost of about two properties, with each demolition costing between $20,000 and $25,000. The $15,000 proposed, by comparison, could cover the cost of demolishing a garage or a small house with no asbestos, according to Kiolbasa. Lawson didn't want to request too much of an increase, he said, but thought this would send a message that this was an item to look at in 2013.

Public Works Director Jim Allen took responsibility for the $15,000 proposal, but warned the council that it would be difficult to back out of these projects once they've started.

"To be fair, this is the first valid discussion we've had (on the issue)," Allen said. "At least it didn't go away. I honestly didn't know what to recommend ... Cleaning up all of it could be about $500,000."

The council continued its regular meeting after their budget discussion, though many of the items were kept brief:

A 7-0 vote transferred the tavern liquor license from IQ Investment Group, LLC to James Gustafson and Travis Glassow of Bottom's Up Tap, at 137 N. Front St.

The council voted 7-0 to transfer funds out of the city treasury, providing for a tax to be levied on properties in Sterling's city limits. The initial amount of $27,932,747 was increased to $27,954,997 to fit the changes made to the city's budget.

Kiolbasa asked the council for comments on a Downtown Assessment report, which highlights some of the assessor's observations and recommendations to improve the downtown area. The lengthy report, he said, was "worth a study," and he will look for comments before the council's next meeting Nov. 13.

The owners of Sterling's historic Luft House, across from Walmart's east entrance, approached the Manager's Office saying they wanted to donate the house to the city. It would become a house museum concerning Germans from Russia in the area, according to Kiolbasa. Council member expressed interest in hearing more about the property, and the owners said they would be willing to hold the house for up to a year.

RE-1 Valley School District has announced its policy for determining eligibility of children who may receive free and reduced price meals served under the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Program.
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