Casey Targets Two Dilapidated Properties for Remediation

Article Summary: The Casey City Council has authorized legal action against two properties deemed “dangerous and unsafe,” signaling a continued focus on addressing blight. The council approved separate resolutions for properties at 709 S. Central and 901 E. Alabama, allowing the city to pursue remediation through two different legal avenues under the state’s municipal code.

Blighted Properties Key Points:

• The City Council approved Resolution #081825B for a property at 709 S. Central, giving the owner 30 days to act before the city can perform remediation work.

• Resolution #081825C was approved for a property at 901 E. Alabama, starting a 15-day notice period before the city can file a lawsuit to compel cleanup.

• City Attorney Tracy Willenborg explained the two properties require different legal approaches due to their specific circumstances.

• The actions are part of the city’s ongoing efforts to address abandoned and dilapidated structures.

CASEY — The City of Casey is moving forward with measures to clean up two blighted properties after the City Council unanimously approved resolutions targeting structures at 709 S. Central and 901 E. Alabama during its Monday meeting.

The actions authorize City Attorney Tracy Willenborg to proceed with legal notices that could lead to city-led remediation and liens placed on the properties if the owners fail to act. Willenborg explained that the two situations require different approaches under the state’s dangerous and unsafe building statute.

For the property at 709 S. Central, the city will proceed under a subsection of the statute that allows it to post, publish, and send certified notice to the owner. The owner will have 30 days to remediate the property or take other necessary steps.

“If they do not remediate or take other necessary steps, then the city can go proceed and do remediation work on the property,” Willenborg told the council.

This route was chosen because of a change in the property’s status. The city had previously petitioned the courts to have the building declared abandoned, but the property owner subsequently became delinquent on taxes, forcing the city to pursue a different legal strategy.

The second property, located at 901 E. Alabama, will be handled under a more direct legal approach. The approved resolution allows the city to send a 15-day notice to the owner. If the owner fails to clean up the property within that timeframe, “the city would file suit,” Willenborg said.

She compared this process to a recent successful case involving the “IV property,” where the city filed a complaint and received a court order. Such an order either requires the property owner to perform the cleanup or authorizes the city to do the work itself and “place a lean on the property for any expense in remediation.”

The council, led by Mayor Pro Tem Tanner Brown in Mayor Mike Nichols’ absence, approved both resolutions without opposition. The measures represent the latest in the city’s ongoing efforts to address dilapidated structures that pose safety risks and detract from community appearance.