MARTINS FERRY — Mayor John Davies warned City Council last week that a collapsing house still is causing danger to neighboring properties on Center Street.

The house began falling in about two weeks ago and has gotten progressively worse since recent rainfalls. Davies said he has been checking on the building every day.

Prior to the meeting, Davies said razing the building likely will be expensive. He also said there is a large tax lien on the property, which means the city probably would not get its money back after taking care of the problem.

However, it still is a public safety hazard, he said.

“It’s just not a good scenario,” Davies said, noting that as the roof falls in the walls are going to fall outward.

The home’s owner is in a nursing facility and is incapacitated, he added.

Davies told council he is concerned that if the property continues to cave in it will damage neighboring houses.

No action was taken by council on the matter last week.

Meanwhile, Davies said the city still is waiting for an estimate of how much it will cost to repair damage to the city building’s masonry. A portion of the building’s masonry fell away from the back of the structure into a parking area below. Part of the roof also was damaged during the incident. Davies said he recently had a company look at the masonry and is waiting for an estimate to come in.

A roof repair estimate came in at $3,200 from Kalkreuth Roofing. The city building is more than 100 years old.