Following a lengthy Tuesday night presentation and discussion with Code Enforcement Officer Charles Hiter, Cadiz City Council members voted 4-2 in favor of pursuing a civil injunction in Trigg County Circuit Court for the 48 Main Street property — one owned by the Chestnut family.
Nay votes came from Susie Hendricks and Bob Noel.
Located across from Mildred’s Flowers, the Trigg County Justice Center, as well as the Trigg County Clerk’s and Judge-Executive’s Office, Hiter recommended this measure as a means for the city to have any governing arm about the property’s future — which could take one of two paths:
+ A yielding final agreement from the Chestnut family to renovate or demolish the building;
+ Or a demand from city officials to renovate or demolish the building.
Hiter confirmed that recent correspondence with property co-owner David Chestnut indicated a true desire to acquiesce at public demands, and law, with a repair and renovation of the falling building.
In fact, he said a company — Steele Construction Services, LLC, of Murray — has recently been on site with scaffolding necessary for engineer inspections and due diligence, to determine the next best course of action, only for those workers to be “harassed” by a nearby property owner named of Mr. Futrell.
Hiter, himself, went by the location, to talk with both parties about concerns, and the need for an engineer’s inspection, before receiving more correspondence from the Chestnuts last Friday.
Hiter said the process for this property had been going on for more than four years, with little to no progress having been made during that time. In that stretch, the building’s walls and foundation have only gotten worse — and time of the essence.
In reviewing some of the city’s options, Hiter also noted that a “statement of work” was necessary in order to put out bids for restoration or demolition, but only a structural specialist could validate such documentation.
Two major questions, which came from Hendricks and Noel, opened up the floor for talk about the cost of demolition, and the reality of the Mr. Futrell’s building possibly losing integrity with an exposed interior wall. Hiter said by rough estimate, judging by the Cadiz Baptist Church razing, is that the city would need no less than $200,000 for an efficient teardown, and that any adjacent stabilization would have to come in that phase. This cost would then have to be recouped through liens on the deed.
Furthermore, Hiter urged that state officials could, in theory, take any moment to put a kibosh on all traffic at that intersection — due to the building’s height and visible state — and such a re-route would be demonstrably difficult for the city.
This drew councilwoman Susan Bryant’s interest.
Should the building come down of its own volition, or perhaps through natural disaster, City Attorney Allen Wilson said Cadiz had enough insurance coverage to handle any potential liabilities in the matter. He also issued that he had been present for many of the Code Enforcement Board’s recent meetings, and assured that body had done everything in its power leading into this month’s discussion.
According to Cornell Law School, an injunction is a court order requiring a person to do or cease doing a specific action. There are three types of injunctions: permanent injunctions, temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions. And while they can be resolved amicably, failure to comply with an injunction can and may result in being held in contempt of court.
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