The City Council of Webster City Monday night tabled a motion for an extension of a an agreement between the City of Webster City and Marty and Nathaniel Parkhill.

“The Parkhills are asking for an extension to be able to move forward with the project they have outlined of moving the home at 609 Ohio St. to 1503 First St.,” said City Manager Daniel Ortiz-Hernandez.

The Parkhills have been working for over a year to utilize the property located at 1503 First St.

A residential agreement was entered into on July 5, 2017. This agreement stated that demolition of the then-existing dwelling was to be completed by Oct. 16, 2017. Completion of the exterior structure including a heating system was to be done by Nov. 1, 2017. According to the agreement, completion of entire construction is to be done by May 1, 2018.

Nathaniel Parkhill found a complete home to move onto the property at 1503 First St. The house, which currently belongs to Theo Boman, is located at 609 Ohio St. The move of this home is scheduled to be completed after Boman completes his move into his recently restored home at 601 Ohio St. Boman estimates to be moved the week after Thanksgiving.

Nathaniel Parkhill has cleaned up the lot at 1503 First St. and is currently doing ground work to prepare for the foundation.

Ortiz-Hernandez questioned where they were currently at with the financial process and timeline.

The Parkhills are waiting on an appraisal from a building company comparing the home at 609 Ohio St.’s value and the lot at 1503 First St.

Nathaniel Parkhill stated the appraisal was sent out Friday and is estimated to take ten days to hear back on.

“Once the appraisal is done it sounds like there is another week for the paperwork before the money is actually available, but once the appraisal is done we will know where we are at financially,” said Nathaniel Parkhill.

“We believe that the May 1 deadline is still functional because once the house is moved on there, you have a house that’s done,” said Marty Parkhill.

Nathaniel Parkhill hopes to get the hole for the foundation dug along with starting on the sewer lines while waiting to hear back on the appraisal.

“First of all, I appreciate you coming out and speaking tonight,” said Councilman Logan Welch. “I do have a problem though with the timeline.”

Welch questioned the Parkhills waiting to sign agreements to complete the process until late October, knowing the Nov. 1 completion deadline.

Nathaniel Parkhill explained plans for what housing structure would be placed on the property continuously changed as they delved into the financial implications of placing a structure on the property.

The Parkhills have been in communication with City Inspector Elise Timm.

Timm suggested the Boman house.

“We’ve made a lot of progress since July,” said Timm. “I feel we’re moving in the right direction. I feel it’s a good fit for this house that Theo needs to take down, for it to be used and not just have another property taken down.”

Councilman Brian Miller was frustrated with the amount of time the Parkhills have been given versus what has been accomplished on the property. Miller did note his appreciation that the Parkhills were working with Timm to remedy the situation.

Councilmen Matt McKinney and Jim Talbot was in favor of giving the Parkhills the additional two weeks to wait on the appraisal.

“We’re deferring this matter for two weeks so that you can get that appraisal done so we have that financial piece in mind when we make that decision if we want to have a municipal infraction or not,” Welch said.

Property acquired

The council approved the acquisition of property located at 1203 East Second St.

The property, also known as the Shady Oaks Subdivision apartment building, has been vacant for more than six months. The property is located next to the Grid Iron Grill on East Second Street. This dwelling was deemed unsafe according to city ordinances.

According to City Attorney Zach Chizek, the city went to court last Monday and was awarded the title of the property.

With the property now in the city’s possession, they will now be able to determine what to do with the property.

Ortiz-Hernandez explained there were multiple avenues the city could take to better the property. Possible options include demolishing the buildings on the property, zoning issues, and determining the most beneficial use of the property for the community.

“We’re looking to get bids to see what demolition costs would entail for the city to demolish it,” Ortiz-Hernandez said.

Another possible option would be to solicit bids for proposals to demolish and utilize the property.