By Haley Smith
Staff Writer
EL DORADO — Despite the protests of the residents of the home, El Dorado City Council voted to continue with plans to condemn a family’s home at it’s meeting on Thursday.
After a vote of two to four, the City Council decided to not remove a home in the 1100 block of Ouachita Street from the condemned house list even though Sylvester and Renee McHenry have been living there until this week when the city turned their electricity off.
“Legally, we just made (them) homeless,” said Ward 3 Alderman Willie McGhee.
A letter of condemnation was sent to the family on Nov. 17, 2015, and was signed by Sylvester McHenry. It was issued into a resolution on March 10, 2016. The house is not up to fire code and had fallen into disrepair, the McHenry’s explained, because the family lives paycheck to paycheck and could not keep up with the home repairs.
“We are not doing this to be ugly, or to look down on you. We are concerned for your safety,” said Ward 2 Alderman Vance Williamson. “We lost a child last year because of a house not up to fire code, and we don’t want that to happen again.”
According to Renee McHenry, the family never heard from the council after the first letter until this past week, when she claimed that Code Enforcement Officer Craig Kirby and Ward 4 Alderman Mary McAdams stopped by the house.
Renee McHenry said during the visit, McAdams stated that a local business owner was looking to buy the property.
Speaking before the council to McAdams, McHenry said, “All I know is, when you and Mr. Kirby came by, you said Mr. Ken wants this property real bad.”
McAdams told the council Ken Blackmon had offered the family a house on the east side of town. “They turned it down,” said McAdams. “They would be the owners of the house and would improve their situation greatly.”
“This house may be in a place I don’t want to be,” said Renee McHenry. “He never showed us a house.”
Since Kirby and McAdam’s visit, the electricity was shut off at the residence by the city, citing that it was on the list to condemn.
“We had a freezer full of food that is now sitting there rotting because they turned the lights off,” said Sylvester McHenry.
McGhee said that he remembered voting to condemn the house, but he didn’t think that there had been mention of a family residing at the property. He voiced his concerns that they would be turning the family out.
“I would much rather them in that house than out on the street,” said McGhee.
Mayor Frank Hash said that if the council voted to remove the house from the condemned list, the family would accept full responsibility for their health and well-being while living there.
McGhee made the motion to remove the home from the condemned structure list Ward 3 Alderman Kensel Spivey seconded. The remaining council members voted against it.
“There has to be a way for all of us to put our heads together to figure out how to help these people,” said McGhee. "I can tell you about living on a small income, things that you want to do. You have to make a choice between groceries, doctor’s bills or medicine. I can identify with that.”