Town attorney: emergency order led to demolition of fire-damaged house at 9535 Joliet Street

Town Attorney Joseph Svetnoff told the St John Town Council on April 9 that the town used its unsafe-building authority and an emergency hearing to order the demolition of a fire-damaged house at 9535 Joliet Street after the owner declined to sign a temporary easement and lien agreement.

Svetnoff said the house, owned by Thomas Prada, was destroyed by fire on Feb. 23, 2025, and that town officials contacted Prada “on at least three separate occasions” to discuss removal of dangerous debris. Svetnoff said Prada had at one point verbally agreed to an agreement but declined to sign a presented temporary easement and lien on March 24, 2025.

On April 1, 2025, the town conducted an emergency unsafe-building hearing that Svetnoff said complied with Indiana open meeting requirements despite the town’s authority to proceed without notice under the unsafe-building statute. At the hearing, the building commissioner and the code enforcement officer “testified and presented evidence demonstrating the dangerous condition of the real estate,” Svetnoff said. The unsafe-hearing authority issued an order that night to demolish the structure and remove scattered dangerous debris “due to public health, safety, and welfare risks,” Svetnoff said.

Svetnoff reported that a demolition contractor performed the removal and demolition on April 2, 2025. Council members asked whether the town had notified Prada directly; during the discussion staff and the attorney said Prada had been contacted several times by phone but that the town was under no statutory or ordinance duty to give notice before exercising its emergency removal authority. The council also asked whether the garage, which had not burned, was included; Svetnoff said the building and planning staff and the unsafe-enforcement authority assessed the property and removed anything deemed an imminent danger to neighboring property, rail lines or the public.

The town record in the meeting did not include copies of the demolition quote presented to the unsafe hearing, the contractor selection process, or whether multiple demolition quotes were obtained. Svetnoff said the town presented a demolition quote at the hearing. No civil litigation or follow-up enforcement action was recorded during the council meeting minutes.

The council did not vote as a body on the matter during this session; the actions described were taken through the town’s unsafe-building authority and the emergency hearing process.