Personal Injury Attorney in Holly Hill, SC.

The Holly Hill Town Council voted on Monday, Sept. 8, to invite bids for demolishing three downtown store buildings that have deteriorated for a decade.

Mayor Billy Chavis said the vote culminated a five-year effort by town officials to address the buildings, which are adjacent to each other at 8635 Old State Road. They share a roof and common interior walls.

The vote followed a presentation by Joshua Thomas, a code enforcement officer and residential inspector with SafeBuilt, a company that has a contract with the Town of Holly Hill.

He said he’s working on 24 condemnation cases in Holly Hill. This one just happened to be the first that he was ready to take to the council for their action.

Thomas said he told the owner in writing earlier this year to hire a structural engineer to determine the condition of the buildings.

A structural engineer found severe problems with the roof, electrical system and foundation, but “the walls were structurally sound and were not in immediate danger of collapse,” Thomas said.

But the inspection was not completed, Thomas said, nor were necessary follow-up steps taken, including hiring an appraiser to determine the actual value of the property.

If the repairs cost less than half the value of the property, the owner could hire a general contractor to bring the structures into compliance with the building code. Otherwise, state law would require the demolition of the buildings, he said.

Thomas asked the council to “move forward with an abatement at the property on the grounds of failure to comply with my condemnation letter. I sent the letter of violation to the owner’s attorney.”

He said the word “condemnation” has different meanings, including a government forcing an owner to sell a property under eminent domain laws.

However, in this situation, the word “condemnation” is being used in a “building code sense,” he said.

When a structure is determined to be “unsafe for human habitation and dangerous to the community at large,” a government pays a contractor to raze it and abate other code violations on the property, such as abandoned vehicles.

The owner can keep the real estate and might even be able to construct a new building on the site. In fact, Thomas said he hopes that happens. “I’d hate to see a dead zone in the middle of your town,” he said.

The town places a lien on the deed so it can recoup its demolition-related costs when the property is conveyed to another party through a sale, inheritance, delinquent tax sale, etc.

During the public comments time, Michael O’Shea introduced himself as the owner of the three buildings in question for the past 18 years.

He disputed the claim that the foundation is severely damaged. He said the glass in the front windows is the only possible hazard to the community that he sees.

Also, during the meeting, council heard from Brian Heape, South Carolina Department of Transportation District 7’s engineering administrator.

He said a gasoline tax increase, along with special state appropriations, allowed for $6.7 billion in active construction projects statewide.

In the near future, DOT intends to resurface S.C. Highway 210 between Branchville and the Providence community; S.C. 310 between U.S. 176 and S.C. 6; U.S. 176 between U.S. 301 and Antioch Road; Coach Road between S.C. 453 and U.S. 176; and U.S. 178 between Bowman and the Dorchester County line, he said.

In response to a question from Mayor Chavis, Heape said the state is responsible for maintaining ditches that are in its right-of-way, while counties are responsible for maintaining ditches that are in their rights-of-way, and adjacent property owners are responsible for maintaining all other ditches.

In other business:

• Dianne Bergen, chair of the town election committee, advised that the former Holly Hill-Roberts Middle School will be the polling place for both of the Holly Hill precincts for the Nov. 4 election.

• Council approved the minutes of its Aug. 13 and Aug. 26 special called meetings.

• The Holly Hill Town Council’s next monthly meeting is set for 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 6, in the governmental complex, 8423 Old State Road, and live on the town’s Facebook page. Contact the town hall at 803-496-3330 for information.