By MIKE HUGHES
Times Leader Staff Writer
BELLAIRE - The final chapter of the ongoing saga of the house at 4172 Harrison St. in Bellaire appears to have been written.
Unfortunately for homeowner Sonya Shreve, it's not the ending she was hoping for.
Shreve appeared before Bellaire Village Council on Thursday, as scheduled, to hear a report back on the re-inspection of her house by Ed Hess. That inspection was scheduled during the July 5 meeting.
The problem was, in both Hess' and council's estimation, the inspection was never completed.
Hess arrived at Shreve's house Friday, July 6 around 4 p.m. to check if Shreve had taken care of the issues listed in the "Abate the Nuisance" notice she received.
Noticeable improvements had been made, ones Hess remarked positively about.
Then Hess asked to see the inside of the home. Shreve declined, stating that he wasn't coming inside without a warrant. Hess left and returned with a Bellaire police officer. He was still denied entry and left the premises.
When asked why she didn't allow the inspector into her home, Shreve stated that "Hess never felt the need to inspect the inside of the house the first time. He was their to make sure the nuisance was abated. He did that. Everything on that list was taken care of."
Hess disagreed.
The back of the home previously was unsealed and was only covered with a tarp. That was a major sticking point on the village's order to abate.
Shreve had it sealed and side, with a door now the only access to the home. But Hess stated he needed to see the inside of the recently-sealed rear of the house for a proper determination.
"I can't make a determination from the outside and I couldn't get in the house," Hess said. "As far as I'm concerned, the nuisance is still not abated."
Marla Krupnik, the deputy clerk and demolition liaison, then reported that because Shreve's attorney had not filed a official injunction in the county against the original demolition order that council was not required to vote a second time to proceed.
"The ordinance states that the home owner has 10 days to file an injunction or the ruling stands," Krupnik said. "July 8 actually would have been 10 days from the council's ruling. No injunction was filed so the ruling stands."
Shreve said she was willing to do whatever was needed to be done in order to continue the renovation. However, she stated she didn't let Hess inside because she didn't want to experience an unending string of lists from the village that had to be met each time she came before council.
"I've got the loan money coming in," Shreve said. "I'll do whatever you need me to do. But I can't keep coming back here every 30 days with a new list of things you want fixed. I abated the nuisance. I've had to miss work and stay at the house because I wasn't sure if the next day it would be torn down."
At the previous meeting, council appeared willing to allow Shreve to move forward, pending the outcome of Hess' inspection. But because of Hess not being able to complete his inspection, they decided to move forward with the demolition.
"If you would have let him in, this wouldn't be a problem," Councilman Jerry Fisher stated.
Shreve, obviously upset at that point, then asked council for a concrete date of demolition in order to get her belongings out of the house.
Krupnik left council chambers momentarily to contact the demolition company. She returned shortly thereafter, telling Shreve that Monday, July 11 was the new demolition date. That gave Shreve 11 days to remove her belongings.
Hughes may be reached at mhughes@timesleaderonline.com
