City to demolish 13 worst buildings
By Matt Caulder
Published in News on February 9, 2014 1:50 AM
The Goldsboro City Council accepted a bid for the demolition of 13 of the city's most dilapidated vacant houses at its meeting last week.
The addresses came from the city's list of minimum housing code violations. After they are demolished, the city will still have 211 houses on its list -- a three-year low.
The houses set to be demolished include 1404 and 1406 Crepe Myrtle St., 1314 and 1316 N. Carolina St., 912 Elm St., 1002 Fourth St., 204 W. Hooks River Road, 1010 N. James St., 200 N. Carolina St., 204 E. Pine St., 923 Seaboard St., 706 N. Virginia St. and 710 Pou St.
Last year, the city demolished 14 houses using $93,000 in demolition funding given to the Inspections Department.
All the houses slated for demolition have moved through the minimum housing list from initial complaints to condemnation by the city.
The minimum housing process is a complaint-driven procedure that gives property owners a chance to bring their dwellings up to standard before they are condemned. When the houses are condemned and demolished, a lien remains on the property for the cost to the city. Anyone who wants to buy the property will have to pay the price for the land and cover the lien.
At the list's highest point, in April 2012, 388 houses faced minimum housing violations.
The recent drop is due to both homeowners fixing minor violations to get their properties removed from the list, as well as a purging of those that have been demolished.
In a normal year, six or seven condemned houses are demolished.
In 2013, the Goldsboro City Council identified blight as a main concern in Goldsboro, fueling the decision to demolish more of the condemned houses.
Rick Bostic Construction and Demolition, a Kinston based company, received the 60-day contract for this next round of demolitions. The city will pay $88,825 to get the work done.
Bostic had the lowest qualifying bid.
Two lower bids were received, but neither included the necessary paperwork to validate them, so they were disqualified.
Eight companies bid on the job offering prices ranging from $82,000 to $213,000.
One of the disqualified bidders sought to have the bidding re-opened to allow him time to submit the necessary paperwork, but his request was denied during the City Council work session Monday night.
"I don't think that would be fair to the guy who has it right now," Councilman Chuck Allen said. "If we open it and it goes down, he's out of it. I've dealt with these and what they need is spelled out right there. It's plain and easy to see."
The contract requires the job be finished by April 10, Chief Building Codes Inspector Allen Anderson Jr. said.