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Thursday, May 22, 2014 - Mason County Journal - Page A-7
City levels derelict mobile homes
By GORDON WEEKS
gordon@masoncoun com
Scott Wilson of Wilson Recycling says
he's torn down some beloved homes.
His demolition assignment Monday
was not one of them.
On Monday morning, Wilson used his
excavator to demolish a 660-square-foot
mobile home at 611 Fairmount Ave. The
circa 1970 structure is one of two der-
elict buildings being leveled by the city of
Shelton as part of its abatement program.
The other structure scheduled to be de-
molished is the moss-covered, boarded-up
house at 2125 Washington St. in Shel-
ton's Mountain View neighborhood.
The city issued contracts last month
for about $16,000 to demolish both build-
ings. The two structures were on the
city's top 10 list on unsafe, derelict build-
ings targeted for abatement.
The city has tried to contact the own-
ers of the Fairmount Avenue mobile
home for years, without response, said
Erik Birk, an associate planner and code
enforcement officer for the city of Shel-
ton. No one has officially lived in the
structure for years, he said.
The less formal tenants have been
squatters, who have lefL behind three
grimy bare mattresses on a living room
floor littered with empty prescription pill
Journal photo by Gordon Weeks
On Monday, Scott Wilson of Wilson Recycling used his excavator to
demolish a 660-square-foot mobile home at 611 Fairmount Ave. The circa
1970 structure is one of two derelict buildings being leveled by Shelton as
part of its abatement program.
bottles and soiled clothing. Birk points
out that the squatters -- who have en-
tered the structure as recently as the
past couple weeks -- have chosen one
end of the living room to urinate and the
other corner to defecate.
In the living room window facing the
street are holiday decorations offering a
wish for a "Happy New Year 2006." Di-
rectly underneath that wish is a rotting
mattress offering a place of rest for dead
brown pine needles. A black plastic gar-
bage bag overflowing with clothes sits on
foot-long grass.
Behind the house was a car trailer
bleached of any color, with broken win-
dows and an overpowering smell of urine.
The demolition will help raise the
property values of the neighboring hous-
es, Birk said. He described the demoli-
tion process as "a rip and grab."
As the process began, a neighbor
emerged and proclaimed, "Today? We're
so excited!"
"It's a good day for a demo," Wilson
announced.
An hour later, the trailer was gone,
and the four kittens found inside had
been handed over to Kitten Rescue. The
metals and wood will be recycled at Wil-
son Recycling.
Next comes 2125 Washington St.,
which has been unoccupied -- except
by squatters -- for more than 20 years.
Asbestos will soon be removed from the
house, and the structure will be demol-
ished, Birk said.
A hearing examiner's ruling paved
the way for the city to place liens on both
buildings.
The city staff produced the top 10 list
of homes to abate in the fall of 2012. That
list has changed as some of the proper-
ties have been cleaned up or demolished
by their owners.
Annual Memorial Day ceremony planned in Shelton
at Shelton Memorial Park at 1605 Van
Buren St. in Shelton.
The one-hour ceremony opens with
the Shelton High School Navy National
Defense Cadet Corps run by Sgt. Maj.
Hernandez. The guest speaker will be
STAFF REPORT
news@masoncounty, com
Join the Fred B. Wival American
Legion Post 31 for the annual Memo-
rial Day ceremony at 11 a.m. Monday
Ret. Maj. Gen. Jim McElroy. at 426-4546. Please come and join us in
For more information, contact the remembering our nation's dead veter-
Mason County Veterans Service Office ans.
Request for Proposals
Mason County is requesting proposals from qualified firms for the
creation and implementation of a Marketing Campaign for Tourism
Development for the County to be funded with Lodging Tax dollars.
This is a two-year contract with an estimated budget of $174,000
per year, commencing January 1,2015.
Proposals must be received by 4:00 p.m. on
June 30, 2014 to be considered.
To request the proposal specifications:
Download from website:
www.co.mason.wa.us/forms/tourism
Email: dlz@co.mason.wa.us
Phone requests: 360-427-9670 ext. 419
or 360-275-4467 ext, 419
your surgery easler
by staying close :[o home. Compassionate, highly qualified surgeons
at MGH Surgery Clinic, combined with an expert surgical team at
Mason General Hospital, are right here - close to your home and family
- to make your surgical experience a positive one.
Call MGH Surgery Clinic for a consultation at (360) 426-4142.
Mason General Hospital
Surgery Clinic
(360) 426-4142 1710 N 13th Loop Rd., Shelton, WA 98584 www.MasonGeneral.com
