Huntingburg evicts man from home deemed unfit and unsafe
Huntingburg — The Huntingburg Board of Public Works and Safety voted to give a resident 30 additional days to vacate his home on East First Avenue.
A public hearing regarding the matter was held at the end of the Board of Public Works scheduled meeting Thursday morning. Two of the three board members were present for the hearing involving city attorney Phil Schneider, Fire Chief Scott Patberg and city deputy code enforcement officer Steve Collett. Homeowner Charles E. Mendel did not attend the hearing.
According to exhibits presented by Schneider and testimony from Patberg and Collett, Mendel’s home at 406 East Fourth Street was a fire hazard, health hazard and a danger to its occupants.
Collett reported to the board that he had issued seven citations on the property over the course of 2012 but had also met with Mendel to assist him with cleanup. The city then assisted Mendel in cleaning up all the issues with the exterior of the home.
In 2013, the home had returned to a deplorable state and based on the continued degradation of the exterior of the home, the city inspected the interior of the home. During the inspection, authorities, including a licensed home inspector, a representative from the Dubois County Health Department, the Huntingburg Fire Chief, two police officers and Collett, found many safety and health hazards in the home including live exposed wires in the walls and ceiling fixtures, unsound structural walls, broken windows, leaking roof, collapsed ceiling and collapsing floor.
The long list of problems was presented to the board and a recommendation to vacate the home by October 5 and have it demolished by November 5 was made and unanimously approved.
Mendel did not attend the hearing. He stated he had a job interview at a staffing firm Thursday morning. He says he hasn’t been employed for over a year although he has been trying to get a job. “I applied at Masterbrand but haven’t heard anything,” he said during an interview in front of the home on Thursday. “I applied at Styline too.”
He and several dogs still live in the dilapidated home with the broken windows, missing siding and tall grass. The front door doesn’t latch closed properly and if the dogs weren’t barking inside it would appear to be abandoned.
Mendel says the city has worked with him through the process but complains that his mower was stolen and that’s why his grass needs cut. He sleeps at a friend’s home most nights and really only comes around the home to feed the dogs.
He has until October 5 to vacate the home completely. He says he has a place to stay when he leaves and Mamma Cindy, a privately ran dog shelter in Huntingburg, is supposed to pick up the five dogs, but he doesn’t plan on tearing the house down. “A friend of mine told me to just walk away, it ain’t worth saving.”
This will likely mean the city will be responsible for demolishing the home and placing a lien against the property to recoup those costs.
If Mendel doesn’t leave the home by October 5, the city has the right to file for injunctive relief and Mendel could face fines for each day he stays in the home. “I think it is $100 a day for each day he defies the order,” Schneider said. “We don’t want to be punitive about it, we just want to get it taken care of. It is an unsafe situation.”
Although Mendel has been cooperative with the city, he hasn’t taken any action to maintain the home and it continually falls back into a deplorable state.
According to Schneider, who has worked with the city as its attorney since 1977, he has never been involved with ordering a homeowner to vacate a building.
“It’s unfortunate we have to take this action but it’s in the best interest of the community,” Mayor Denny Spinner stated. “It’s not an easy decision but I think it is a proper one based on the investigations by our code enforcement officer and fire department.”
We removed the description of Mr. Mendel.
Why is it necessary to rudely give his appearance in an article discussing the living conditions he once withstood? I find this very offensive and rude.
I agree – and where and who did this information come from? If the press by observation, shame for your unprofessional literary discretion – as if such information makes any difference – and if someone at the city or other entity TO the press, shame on them as well for conveying it as if it matters.
I met with Mr. Mendel in front of his home for a few moments to talk to him about the city’s decision.
He is an affable man who has known he was being evicted for over a month. He readily admitted the city has worked extensively with him through the past year and a half before they inspected the interior of the home and found the dangerous conditions that existed not only for the resident but also any emergency workers that would respond there when it caught fire from the exposed electrical wires or improperly installed wood burner flue, not to mention the potential spread of said fire to the nearby neighbors’ homes.
The goal in describing him was simply to add a human element to what could have essentially been a cold story of the city squashing some faceless resident.
Stay on the subject – no one thus far is objecting to the sound reasoning for the city’s action – no need to review the conditions as if so. Sorry, but your reasoning for including a very unnecessary and rude physical description for “a human element” is both baseless and journalistically unprofessional under these circumstances. In a fiction or perhaps even a non-fiction novel, maybe, but a news story – no way. You blew it and you owe this man an apology.
I also agree…what he looks like has nothing to do with this story!
dcfreep/Ima Green – You stated: “He is heavily tanned man with an underbite who uses a beat up moped to get around”. And that is important why? I find your excuse in trying to “justify” yourself appalling. There was absolutely no need to give this description, as you say, to a “faceless resident”, in order to make “your” story important. By the way, “he is “a” heavily tanned man, not “he is heavily tanned man”. I’m not perfect, but I know that you need to check your grammar the next time you publish. Just my humble, yet aggravated opinion.