COUNCIL MEETING ON LOCAL BURNED HOUSE

Residents, City Complained Burned House Was Often Vandalized
Mon, 07/03/2023 - 6:50pm
Ryan Storz

An abandoned house on Frontier Lane in Bourbon went up in flames Monday, more than a month after a resident complained to the city council that it was often being vandalized.

Barb Dillon asked what the council could do about the home, which sat vacant for several years and was a source of vandalism.

Mayor Dave Lafferty said the city could have condemned the house, but couldn't tear it down.

“Condemning (the house) wouldn’t change anything,” Lafferty said at the time, adding that he hoped the owner would eventually have it demolished.

Dillon said she reported criminal activity at the home, but the officer told her that he couldn’t find the subjects.

Police Chief Scott Zwetow said that wasn’t true because he was the officer Dillon spoke to and he did locate them, but the homeowner didn’t request any action to be taken.

The house was abandoned in 2008.

According to Crawford County Collector Pat Schwent, the property is currently in the name of Carl and Violet Bergner.

The couple abandoned the property that year.

Schwent said the mortgage company holding the lien on the property “did not respond to any attempt to collect the taxes nor did the mortgage company ever change the property into their name as owners.”

Schwent said that in 2009, Elizabeth Hawkins wanted to pay the delinquent taxes, but with the understanding that she would own the property.

Following several conversations between Schwent, Hawkins and then Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Mike Randazzo, Hawkins was allowed to pay the taxes.

“Anyone can pay the taxes, but she was assured if she was seeking ownership, she would have to contact the mortgage company direct to accomplish her goal,” Schwent wrote in an email to the Independent News.

Hawkins paid the taxes from 2009 through 2012, but in 2013, Teresa Miller paid the taxes by telephone, Schwent said.

From 2014 through 2018, Hawkins again paid the taxes.

“It is my understanding Elizabeth abandoned the property sometime in 2018-2019,” Schwent said.

In 2019 and 2020, the property was offered at the annual tax sale, with no buyers.

William Counts of Bourbon stepped up to purchase a lien on the property in 2021, but Schwent said he failed to follow through with steps on purchasing liens.

“A collector’s deed could not be issued,” she said.

The property is once again scheduled to be on the tax sale when it’s held at the courthouse Aug. 28, but Schwent said she is unsure if he will be purchasing it again.

Schwent said there is asbestos shingles on the structure.
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