Property owner Blair Zopf has been slowly cleaning his yard and addressing concerns from city hall during the past four months but needs more time to finish the massive project.
The City of Moose Jaw issued a property maintenance order for 1008 Alder Avenue on Jan. 11 with a compliance date of March 17. Council later agreed to give Zopf until May 15 and again until July 15 to complete the order.
During the July 12 executive committee meeting, council voted 6-1 to give Zopf another two-month extension to Sept. 15 since he had made positive progress in addressing city hall’s concerns about his property.
Coun. Dawn Luhning was opposed.
The recommendation must be approved during a regular council meeting to become official.
So far, Zopf has obtained a professional structural engineer’s review of the home; removed stairs on the east side; removed the south deck; enclosed the east entrance to protect the entrance; repaired the west eavestrough; and demolished the attached garage.
“There has been a significant amount of work done on the home and he has been working with our building official,” Michelle Sanson, director of planning and development, said during the meeting.
However, the three main outstanding items Zopf must address are:
- Providing paint or a similar protective membrane to protect the exterior wood siding and wood sheathing of the house
- Replacing rotted framing on the south side, which requires the south porch to be removed; planning for this is ongoing
- Installing eavestroughs and downspouts on the west and south sides of the porch
In a letter to council, Zopf explained every step he had taken to fix his property and the home on it. He was finalizing the terms of a contract to paint the house, which depended on the availability of the two contractors he had contacted. The weather had prevented painters from starting, but trees had been removed to make it easier for them to access the building.
Roofers are expected to start shingling in August, while Zopf said he was waiting on an engineer to complete plans for the west porch. However, the contractor has said his availability is limited in July. Therefore, Zopf hired a second contractor with more availability in August.
“As I have stated previously, I have full intentions to complete all required repairs,” he said. “It would be appreciated if both my demonstrated commitment of what has been completed as well as recognition of previously submitted (contractor’s) letter stating the fall as a date for completion be taken into consideration as you deliberate.”
There has been some major work done on the property, based on the pictures that city administration has provided, Coun. Kim Robinson said. He didn’t think council or city hall had attempted to make this an impossible project for Zopf, considering the property owner has worked with the city in a co-operative manner.
“It is a hard time to spend money. I realize it is certainly necessary for this property, but it’s always tough to come up with extra money like that,” he added.
Coun. Heather Eby also appreciated the work Zopf was doing.
“I think it’s refreshing to see someone take this kind of order so seriously and to put in work and the finances to get this work done,” she added. “Often, we don’t see that kind of compliance.”
The next executive committee meeting is Monday, July 26.
