By PHYLLIS ZORN

Staff writer

Owners of a dilapidated house at 116 N. Roosevelt St. in Marion have 90 days to improve conditions at the house they have been working on before the city debates again whether to order demolition.

Owners Jessica and Trinity Snyder told city council members they have been working on the house.

“It’s not structurally unsound,” Trinity Snyder said. “We’re making progress. It’s not going to be done quickly.”

Jessica Snyder told the council 90 days is not long enough to finish work on the house. It needs windows replaced as well as a new heating and air conditioning unit installed.

The Snyders, who don’t live in the house, have replaced plumbing and done other work on the house since the city inspected it.

Council member Susan Gray said if the couple replaces the windows, it will at least make the house look better. Trinity Snyder said they can have that done quickly.

Mayor David Mayfield said someone from the city will look at the property again after 90 days to confirm progress is being made.

The property was last inspected July 21 by former building inspector Marty Fredrickson, who has retired.

Fredrickson said floors needed to be leveled, the roof and porch needed to be repaired or replaced, and the electrical, plumbing, and heating and cooling systems needed work. He recommended a reasonable time frame be given to comply with city code.

Another property, at 702 S. Cedar, has been a thorn in the city’s side for a year because of rubbish and vehicles littering the property. The condition of the house itself is not the problem.

Owner Kevin Geren told council members he is talking with a lawyer about the city’s plans.

Geren also said the property has been his daughter’s home for 20 years.

Mayfield said no one is telling the Gerens to abandon the home, but they are being told to clean up the property.

Outbuildings put up to cover cars and other debris are the problem, Mayfield said.

Geren was earlier ordered by municipal court to clean up the property. Then he was ordered by the state to clean it up. When Kansas Department of Health and Environment inspected the property on the July 29 deadline Geren had been given to complete the cleanup, inspectors found the work had not been done.

In August, the city signed an agreement with KDHE that the state would reimburse 75% of the cost of cleanup at the property.

City council gave Geren 30 days to remove the outbuildings.