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Highlands Today

Bad Neighbors

Jasmina Meyer/Highlands Today

From left: Glenn Hawkins, Diane Hawkins, Michelle Waldron, and Deloris Fennell are all neighbors to this abandoned house and want the county to force the owner to get the property to code.

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By JIM KONKOLY

Highlands Today

Published: September 1, 2008

SEBRING - Highlands County Attorney Ross Macbeth's law firm will file for foreclosure on a vacant home at 1511 Wellington Drive because the Orlando man who owns it has two liens against the property for code violations.

Homeowners living next to and near the home, though, say the county has not acted fast enough.

Glenn Hawkins and neighbor Deloris Fennell say the biggest problem is the swimming pool, hidden from view behind a concrete block wall surrounding it, which is filling with stagnant water.

Such pools at vacant or abandoned homes can become a perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes, they say, and the home has become an eyesore nuisance that harms the values of their homes, Hawkins and Fennell said.

For several years, Fennell said, the owner has rarely visited the property and has ignored orders by county code enforcement officers to mow the yard.

"The pool has to be drained and sealed and the yard cleaned up," said Diane Hawkins, Glenn's wife.

Neighbors had been taking turns mowing the overgrown and unkempt yard, Fennell said, but stopped doing so several months ago.

"Why should we let this guy get away with this (not maintaining his yard or home)?" Fennell asked.

Michelle Waldron, who with husband Scott lives across the street from the dilapidated and vacant home, said the house was put up for sale for the collection of unpaid back taxes, but it was never sold.

"My husband saw the owner at the sale and he offered to buy the house," Waldron said. "Several neighbors offered to buy the house."

Glenn Hawkins said the neighbors planned to have the house torn down if they acquired it and then sell the lot.

But, Michelle Waldron said, the owner, identified in the two county liens filed on the property as Timothy Swank, refused to sell to any of his neighbors.

"He told my husband that he bought it for $60,000 and he wanted to sell it at $160,000 and make $100,000," Michelle Waldron said.

The five neighbors showing a Highlands Today reporter and photographer the problems at the house all agreed on two points.

"What we want to know," Michelle Waldron said, "is what can be done about this?"

Fennell said repeated complaints to the county wind up with county officials "passing the buck and we can't get an answer."

The second point was stated emphatically by Diane Hawkins.

"There are a lot of children in this neighborhood, and God forbid that any children get into that pool," she said. "This used to be mostly senior citizens in this area, but in the last several years many young families have moved in, and they all have children."

April Hartseil, who was working on a code violation case south of State Road 70, was called in to the county government annex by county Administrator Michael Wright when he was told of the neighbors comments about this vacant house.

"Let's get the file and find out the facts," Wright said.

Hartseil produced a two-inch thick pile of papers, all related to code violations and enforcement actions on the house.

The first lien, for not correcting code violations, was for $1,120. It was filed by Bob Bullard, chairman of the board of county commissioners, on March 28, 2006.

On Oct. 25, 2007, Pamela T. Karlson, special magistrate, approved another lien, for "nuisance abatement," of $5,120. The amount was approved by Karlson for "the cost of a title search, the cost of cleaning the property, and the unpaid fine previously imposed."

Now that there are two liens on the property, Hartseil said, "we will start the foreclosure procedure."

How soon will the county foreclose on the house?

"That is totally up to the attorneys," Hartseil answered. "I know that right now the (county) attorneys are handling 32 foreclosures, and this will be in the next batch of foreclosures that go to them."

Glenn and Dianne Hawkins, Fennell and Michelle Waldron all said they believe the house is filled with black mold, because, from the street, you can see through a window that has no shades or blinds. Looking in from the street, as bright sunshine streamed into the room, the walls appeared dark black.

Hartseil said she was inside the house several years ago with a building code inspector and she remembers that some of the inside walls were painted black. She also said the county code enforcement department has no current complaints about the vacant home.

"My concern as a code enforcement officer would be life safety issues," she said. A pool at a vacant home which children could get to would be a "life safety issue" that require swift action, she said.

"As I remember that home, I believe the cement block walls (around the pool) are about six feet high, so children shouldn't be able to climb over and get into the pool," she said.

Right now, Hartseil added, "we're so overwhelmed" with investigating complaints about nuisance homes and properties throughout the county

Hartseil and the other experienced code enforcement officer, Beverly Singley, started work Thursday at 7 a.m. and worked past 9 p.m., Hartseil said.

"And then we both were in to start this morning at 6:30," Hartseil said. "And today is the deadline to file for the public hearings" on nuisance properties before the county commissioners at their meeting Tuesday.

The county's two other code enforcement officers started on the job recently and are still learning about their responsibilities and duties.

Wright said code enforcement is a series of steps "for abatement of problems." Every community in Florida faces similar problems.

Property rights are very strong in Florida, he said, and so the legal steps to solve problems when the owner doesn't can stretch out over time.

While enforcing the property code can be a long and tough process, Hartseil said, "when you reach compliance it's very rewarding.

"It's hard to make people happy," she added. "But when you get compliance you're doing something good for the community. And that's what keeps us going."

Hartseil said she was going to call Fennell and meet with the neighbors complaining about this vacant home and uncovered pool.

Jim Konkoly can be reached at 863-386-5855 or e-mail jkonkoly@highlandstodauy.com

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