Some of Jefferson County’s worst nuisance properties will soon be history.
The County Council voted Sept. 12 to hire three contractors to tear into the county’s list of abandoned and deteriorating buildings.
The council agreed to spend a total of up to $262,000 to hire Checkered Flag Excavation Inc. in De Soto, NCI Inc. in House Springs and Precision Lawn Care and Landscaping in Dittmer to start on a priority list of problem properties.
There was one other bidder from Illinois, which did not receive a contract for the work.
Many of the nuisance buildings on the list were damaged in fires, while others are falling apart due to age, County Services Director Eric Larson said.
The council had voted on April 25 to commit $250,000 of the $43.7 million the county will receive over the next two years under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) toward eliminating nuisance properties, and Larson said an additional $12,000 will be drawn from the county’s annual allocation for the abatement.
“We’re hoping to meet with the vendors in the next 30 days to divide and conquer, so to speak,” Larson said.
He said at that time, his staff and the contractors will decide how much abatement that $262,000 will buy.
“We have a list of 12 priority projects,” Larson said. “It would be great if the money would stretch to hit all of them, but I’m hopeful we’ll cross at least eight to 10 off the list. That will be eight to 10 neighborhoods that will look better, and the people who live nearby will get some relief.”
Larson said the county has cleared all the legal hurdles needed to proceed with demolition.
“We have held a public hearing before the County Code Commission, which is required, and we have served notices to all the last known owners and did the proper advertising. The next step is to schedule and begin work.”
He said he hopes the work will be completed by spring.
Larson said Checkered Flag Excavation and NCI Inc. will do the demolition work, while Precision Lawn Care and Landscaping’s services will be used on any cleanup work deemed necessary.
“Precision already does the landscaping work on our nuisance properties, so we’re familiar with their work,” Larson said.
The following is a list of the nuisance properties on the priority list, in no particular order:
■ 130 Lavernel Drive, Fenton
■ 3126 E. Romaine Creek Road, Fenton
■ 4616 Rock Creek Road, High Ridge
■ 13553 E. Sunrise Lake Drive, De Soto
■ 7988 Riverview Drive, Dittmer
■ 760 Kohnen Drive, Fenton
■ 4746 Michelle Drive, House Springs
■ 9742 Old Hwy. 21, Hillsboro
■ 547 Hidden Trail, De Soto
■ 2650 Meyer Road, Festus area
■ 715 and 717 Shangri La Estates, Fenton
“They’re spread all over the county, which is kind of a blessing and a curse,” Larson said. “It’s a curse because we’ve got a big county with nuisance properties spread out, but it’s a blessing that when we’re able to address it, we’re making people happy in several different areas.”
Larson said the last two properties on the above list may take care of themselves.
“They’re mobile homes in terrible condition in the Shangri La mobile home park,” he said. “We’ve told the owners that they can either dispose of them themselves or they’ll pay us to do it. I believe they’re going to take care of those two, and maybe at least a couple more.”
If the $262,000 won’t take care of all the problem properties on the priority list, Larson said, they will be at the top of next year’s list.
“As soon as we cross properties off the list, we get other ones to take their place,” he said.
Larson said after the work is completed, sometimes the owner will take more of an interest in the site and pay the county for the work. In the vast majority of cases, the property has been abandoned by its owners. In those cases, a lien is placed against the land and the county will recover its costs if the land is sold.
“When we’re able to recover our costs, we apply those proceeds to take care of another problem,” he said.