Bessemer council condemns house

By CHARITY SMITH

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Bessemer — The Bessemer City Council voted to condemn the property at 304 E. Lead St. during a special meeting Thursday morning. The meeting was called after officials learned information that contradicted what the property owner had told the the council at its regular meeting on Monday.

Clifford Chetnick, owner of the house, said he was not planning on selling the property when asked by council woman Linda Nelson during Monday’s meeting. However, Tuesday morning, councilman Lou Miskovich was informed by a resident that the property was indeed listed for sale online.

“I went to the information that this person told me about and a little bit of searching and there was the house,” Miskovich said at Thursday’s meeting.

The ad has since been taken down, according to city manager Charly Loper, but she has screenshots of the ad before it was taken down.

Chetnick told the council Thursday that he did not lie to them during Monday’s meeting. He said he was unaware of the post as he had not placed the house up for sale, but that someone else had placed the ad.

Miskovich said he was told that people who called the number listed regarding the property, had been told that it is for sale for $17,700, and one of the comments asked if it were still for sale. Miskovich said he had no doubt that Chetnick was indeed trying to sell the property.

Code enforcement officer George Beninghaus said he had been citing the property for foundation issues since he started in 2019 and brought the house up for condemnation after nothing was done to repair it in October 2019. He also said he found a letter from Butch Saari, the city’s building inspector, dated April 2017 that cited Chetnick for problems with the property.

The property’s foundation is collapsing and the city is worried that it could collapse onto a neighboring structure. The house also has multiple broken windows, some of which are boarded up and have become an eyesore.

“I think that with the time he has been allotted to have this fixed, I’m really sorry, but it doesn’t really seem like he has any intention of fixing it up, it’s been … three years now,” Nelson said. “I think that tells a tale in itself.”

Loper said the city had two choices, they could either condemn the property, which can be reversed after the issues with the property have been rectified, or start fining Chetnick $100 per day per violation. Miskovich was initially in favor of issuing the fines, while Nelson thought the fines were too high and that it would be better to condemn it.

“One of my biggest worries is that that foundation just keeps getting worse and worse. I’m thinking Linda is right. It would be better to condemn it and if he can get it fixed, then we can un-condemn it,” Miskovich said.

Ultimately, the council members present, also including Terry Kryshak, voted 3-0 to condemn the property. Councilman Bill McDonald and Mayor Adam Zak were not in attendance.

After the vote, Chetnick asked if he could sign the property over to the city or the county. Loper said that he could not do so, that it was his responsibility to maintain and repair the property. She also further explained to him that condemnation means that property is no longer habitable, he would have to let future buyers know that it is condemned.

“This has been going on for over three years, and it needs to be taken care of,” Kryshak told Chetnick and his wife. “We’re not trying to be difficult, we’re trying to protect our community.”

Chetnick told the council that while he understands what they have to do and doesn’t hold that against them, but he does not appreciate them accusing him of lying. “I did not lie when I answered Linda’s question and I don’t like being called a liar. ... I don’t do that to people and I don’t like people doing that to me.”