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Commissioners accept higher bid to demolish cluttered house at 3971 North Second Street
Summary
The Jefferson County commissioners voted to accept a contractor's bid to remove a dilapidated house and surrounding junk at 3971 North Second Street; staff said the county will pursue eviction and secure the property before cleanup.
Jefferson County commissioners voted May 15 to accept a bid to demolish a house and remove surrounding debris at 3971 North Second Street, a property identified in the meeting as owned by Amy Jo Hazelwood Call.
The action came after Joshua, from Home Safe, presented two bids for the work and said the property has been vacant “for quite some time.” Joshua told the commissioners, “Were here tonight to open up a couple of bids that we got for, property of in deputy. It's, 3971 North Second Street.”
The two bids Joshua reported were from Gosman Construction Incorporated of North Vernon and from Coombs (transcript: “Coombs Escalating”) of Lexington. Joshua read the amounts on the record: Gosman Construction for "$10.05" and Coombs for "$14.09 50." Joshua said the Coombs bid made the decision "pretty easy."
County staff reported recent indications that someone may have returned to the property: "we've had a couple of neighbors call and say that they think they've moved in," and that the Department of Child Services in Scottsburg called to report an address change. Because of that, staff said the county likely must pursue eviction and then seal the property before cleanup can proceed.
After discussion, a commissioner moved to accept the higher Coombs bid and another commissioner seconded the motion. The chair called for the vote and asked, "All those in favor, say aye," and the motion was approved by voice vote.
The commissioners did not put a dollar figure for the accepted contract in the minutes beyond the bids read aloud. Staff said they would coordinate eviction steps with county counsel ("Pat") and keep the board updated about next steps and scheduling.
The county provided no timeline in the meeting for eviction, sealing or demolition, and no formal contract number or start date was recorded during the discussion.
The matter was raised and decided as part of routine property-cleanup work; Joshua and county staff answered commissioners' procedural questions and said they would follow up on next steps.
Looking ahead, staff said they would coordinate with county counsel and return with any updates or scheduling details as the eviction and cleanup process proceeds.
