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Business owner says neighboring vacant building flooded her shop; staff to re-inspect and outline enforcement options
Summary
Tracy Everhart, owner of Dreamweaver's (431 State St.), told the council a frozen water pipe at a neighboring vacant building flooded her basement; staff said they will re-inspect and prepare a report outlining enforcement options, noting historic-register code complexities.
Tracy Everhart, who identified herself as the owner of Dreamweaver's at 431 State Street, told Augusta City Council on Feb. 2 that a water line failure at the adjacent vacant property (427–429 State St.) flooded her basement and that the neighboring property owner has repeatedly failed to maintain the building.
Everhart said the break flooded roughly 6 inches at the front of her building and about 3 inches at the rear and described ongoing neglect at the vacant property — broken windows, vegetation growing from the back, and other deferred maintenance she said the city has not enforced. "I had about 6 inches in the front of the building and about 3 inches towards the back of the building, and everything in there is soaking wet," she said.
City staff acknowledged prior contacts and said they would prepare a summary report identifying enforcement options, noting different code sets can apply when a building is on the historic register. Staff said they would send the inspector back to check current conditions and any immediate safety concerns and would coordinate with the Main Street Design Committee where applicable.
Councilmembers asked staff to follow up and agreed to pursue a report outlining next steps for inspection and potential enforcement.
