Ongoing nuisance tabled for further discussion with owner’s attorney

     An on-going nuisance located at 23325 Washington St. in Anamosa will be revisited yet again during the Jones County Board of Supervisors meeting on Dec. 28.

     However, during the Dec. 21 board meeting, Land Use Administrator Michele Lubben and County Attorney Kristofer Lyons met with the board to discuss next steps related to the nuisance.

     An official notice was sent to the property owner on June 16. A public hearing on the matter took place on Sept. 14, in which the executor of the estate and daughter of the former homeowners was present, Heather McDowell. During that previous hearing, McDowell explained to the supervisors that she was working through some legal issues with her attorney concerning her parents’ estate and the property, stemming from a fire in May 2020. During the Sept. 14 hearing, the supervisors tabled any action until McDowell’s lawyer and Lyons had a chance to visit on the legal matters.

     At the Dec. 21 board meeting, Lubben and Lyons both said they had not received any form of communication from McDowell’s lawyer.

     “There has been no change in the property,” Lubben said of the nuisance.

     It wasn’t until Lubben contacted McDowell on Dec. 17 that her lawyer finally contacted Lyons on Dec. 20.

     “I don’t know what’s going on between the executors and her attorney,” admitted Lyons of the situation and lack of communication.

     “The insurance and mortgage are stonewalling,” Lubben added.

     She explained the county’s options at this point are to either hire a contractor to perform the cleanup and assess it to the owner to abate the nuisance or issue an infraction via the court.

     “You could make a claim to the estate of the cost,” Lyons noted of the assessment.

     “We need to keep going on this,” urged Supervisor Jeff Swisher of the cleanup efforts.

     McDowell, who was also present during the meeting, said a fence was erected to mitigate the nuisance situation, but it came down during the derecho in August 2020.

     “It will be put up again,” she offered. “But per our last conversation, you said you would work with me through the legal issues.”

     “The fence is not helping,” Lubben said.

     McDowell said she is unsure of what the county wants from her, and is also unsure of her plans for the future of the property at this point.

     She said depending on what happens through the legal matters concerning the estate, some of that money could help cover demolition costs for the house.

     “I am trying to work with you to clean up the property,” she told the board.

     Supervisor John Schlarmann noted that the condition of the house “is bad.”

     “It’s an eyesore,” he said.

     “I can’t tear down the structure because there is a full basement; it’s problematic,” McDowell said.

     “But it troubles me that our attorney has reached out to your attorney and they just heard back yesterday,” commented Swisher. “This process has to happen a lot faster. How do we motivate you to do it within the next two months?”

     “This is a self-motivated process,” added Lubben. “It shouldn’t be the county’s decision (to clean it up).”

     Swisher informed McDowell that the neighbors are complaining about the condition of the home.

     “They have rights, too,” he said. “They’re calling us and want us to move things along.”

     Lubben said the property seems to be pretty marketable that it should be easy to sell for residential development.

     The supervisors chose to table any action, for the time being. A meeting with McDowell’s lawyer was set for 9:30 a.m. on Dec. 28 during the next board meeting.