Council orders houses demolished
Two rundown houses along a busy section of South 15th Street will be demolished this fall.
The City Council on Monday hired ITS Land Improvement, of Manson, to knock down buildings at 1505 Third Ave. S. and 312 S. 15th St. at a cost of $29,900.
The house at 1505 Third Ave. S. is a two-story wood house at the corner of 15th Street and Third Avenue South. It has a distinctive blue paint job.
The house at 312 S. 15th St. was declared unfit for human habitation on June 27, 2016, by the City Council acting as the community’s Board of Health. The windows on the second floor of the house are broken out, enabling birds to fly in and out. City Building Official Troy Brandt told the council previously that there is 3 to 6 inches of accumulated bird droppings and feathers on the floor of the house,which pose a public health threat.
The house was once owned by William S. Doan, who died on Sept. 24, 2015.
The buildings are to be demolished by the end of September.
Other bidders for the job were Clark Construction Ltd., $48,396; Rasch Construction Inc., $49,641; and Russ’s Construction Inc., $67,515.56. All three companies are from Fort Dodge.
In other business, the council:
• Hired Doyle Construction, of Fort Dodge, to install pipe at 16th Avenue North and 13th Street to collect water from sump pumps at a cost of $12,700.
• Purchased two mowers for the Parks, Recreation and Forestry Department from KC Nielsen, of Humboldt, for $33,500 with trade-ins.
• Bought three 2018 Ford Explorers for the Police Department from Fort Dodge Ford Lincoln Toyota for $87,066.
• Hired Snyder and Associates, of Ankeny, to design traffic signal improvements for Fifth Avenue South at a cost of $55,000.