During its June 11 meeting, Washington’s City Council condemned the house at 701 N. Charlotte St. as unsafe and awarded a $5,900 contract to Dudley Landscaping to demolish the house.

City inspectors determined the house did no meet minimum standards of maintenance, sanitation and safety. Those standards address conditions that are dangerous and injurious to public health, safety and welfare. They identify circumstances under which a public necessity exists for the repair, closing or demolition of such structures, according to a memorandum from John Rodman, the city’s director of community and cultural services.

The house’s defects include, but are not limited to, unsafe wiring, conditions creating a fire hazard, attracting insects and rodents, overloaded floors and lack of ventilation, light and sanitary facilities.

The city issued an order for the house’s owner, George Bernard Daniels, to demolish and remove the building. That did not occur.

If the city uses city money to pay for demolishing the building, a lien will be placed against the real property. The lien will have to be satisfied if and when the property is sold.

In recent years, the city has become more aggressive in dealing with structures that do not meet the minimum housing code and/or building codes.

Several years ago, the city adopted an ordinance designed to prevent property owners, particularly owners of significant historic properties, from allowing their properties to essentially be demolished by neglect.

During the meeting, the City Council authorized the mayor to sign a new lease agreement between the city and the Washington Tourism Development Authority for its use of the Civic Center.

The current one-year lease expires June 30. The new lease agreement is for one year, sets the city’s subsidy to operate the Civic Center at $35,000 and includes a 50/50 profit-sharing provision between the city and WTDA. Those conditions are the same ones included in the current lease.

The authority will pay no rent for use of the Civic Center as its offices, but will responsible for all management and operations of the facility. The city will pay its subsidy in 12 monthly payments of $2,916.67 due on the 10^th of each month.

The authority may submit funding requests to address specific maintenance costs, with the city, recognizing budget restraints, making its best efforts to fund such requests. Under the new lease, the city is responsible for major structural maintenance of the Civic Center, including decks, floors, roofs and plumbing and electrical systems.

On or before Oct. 31 of each year, beginning in 2017, the change in the net position of the Civic Center, as reported in the auditor’s report, will be shared equally between the city and authority, whether a gain or loss. If a gain, the authority will remit payment — half of the gain — to the city by Oct. 31, and if a loss, the city will remit payment — half of the loss — to the authority by Oct. 31.

WTDA is to use its leased areas to promote tourism and tourism-related projects, according to the proposed lease. WTDA has the right to set policies concerning use of the Civic Center and establish rates for use of the Civic Center and its facilities.