.jpg)
A public hearing is the next step in the city of Ely’s efforts to compel property owners to make needed improvements to a home now deemed uninhabitable.
City building official Doug Whitney has recommended that the structure at 45 East Boundary Street be “demolished or removed.”
Council members moved Tuesday to set up a June 17 hearing, at 5 p.m., per the city’s blight ordinance.
According to tax records, the property is owned by Jason Gillson and Mark Herman, and the home was set on fire in September, 2023.
Since then, the city has struggled to get the property owners to complete a list of 16 improvements ordered last year.
All but three of the improvements were either not done or are partially done, according to a report submitted by Whitney and included in Tuesday’s council meeting packet.
Another, the repair of broken doors and windows, was apparently done without a city building permit, or inspections, according to Whitney.
Not long after the fire, the home was deemed uninhabitable by the city.
Council members voiced frustration with the lack of progress when the issue came before them in the spring of 2024, and seemingly little progress has been made.
Whitney’s recommendation this week stated “the building is hazardous because of inadequate maintenance, dilapidation, fire damage, abandonment, and failure to make needed repairs. The current condition of the building is dangerous to life, health, or safety of the occupants.”
Whitney’s report included several photos including one showing kerosene heaters and electric space heaters inside the structure in an attempt to “thaw” the pipes.
According to Whitney, the house was not warm and the washing machine, laundry tub and hot water heater were “all frozen solid.”
Whitney told the council that the home was being heated by “multiple space heaters as well as the stove top burners on the oven - they were all on.”
The fire at the property in 2023 was followed by a high-speed chase with law enforcement officers, which ended when Gillson was apprehended near County Road 904.
He was later charged with several crimes and is currently in jail.
