City razes condemned property

A house that had been on the city’s condemned list since March 2016 was razed Tuesday by the El Dorado Fire Department.

According to Resolution 1451, published in the News-Times on March 18, 2016, the home at 1112 Ouachita Ave. was “dilapidated, obnoxious, unsafe and unsanitary.” The resolution also stated the home belonged to Roberta McHenry and Renee McHenry.

Renee told the News-Times on Tuesday that she was living inside the residence, and that she was not notified of the property being condemned or razed.

“I had TVs in there, a king size bed, a brand new bed mattress, refrigerator, freezer, washer, dryer, microwave … everything,” Renee said. “I’m just upset.”

According to city officials, once a vacant property has been deemed a nuisance, the city attempts to notify the property owners with a certified letter stating they have 30 days to bring the property up to code, but property owners may request additional time if they cannot complete the work within the allotted time.

If the city does not hear back from a property owner within 30 days, the property is then recommended for condemnation.

That process was followed in the case of the McHenry’s home on Ouachita Avenue. The El Dorado City Council discussed the property during a meeting in June 2017 with Sylvester McHenry and Renee McHenry in attendance.

A letter of condemnation was sent to the family on Nov. 17, 2015, and was signed by Sylvester. At the June meeting, the McHenry’s explained that the house is not up to fire code and had fallen into despair because the family lives paycheck to paycheck.

Renee also said that Ken Blackmon was wanting the property for his business, located nearby.

At the meeting in June, Ward 4 Alderman Mary McAdams told the council that Blackmon had offered the family a house on the east side of town.

“They turned it down,” McAdams said at the time. “They would be the owners of the house and would improve their situation greatly.”

Renee said she has been looking for a new house since June.

“I have not found a house decent enough for me to stay in and put my stuff in,” she said.

At a City Council meeting in February, Ward 3 Alderman Willie McGhee expressed interest in creating a committee to review proposed condemnation lists and assess the properties.

At the time, the council voted to take $360,000 from the city’s reserve coffers to advance the process of razing condemned structures, which had previously been put on hold, after increased reports of crime, including dog fighting, in vacant structures.

The $360,000 is being used to hire a contractor to complement in-house work performed by city crews and to pay overtime for the El Dorado Fire Department to burn structures that can be used for live-fire training.

Kaitlyn Rigdon can be reached at 870-862-6611 or [email protected].

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