City officials, the owners of Yorktown Memorial Hospital and the public were scheduled to weigh in on what should be done with the old hospital building at a public hearing Monday, Nov. 17.
A report by City Inspector Bureau Veritas dated Oct. 16 included 54 photographs of deteriorating conditions inside and outside the building at 728 W. Main St. Based on that, Veritas determined that it “violates the standards as provided by the Substandard Building Ordinance of the City of Yorktown.” The report cited 10 deficiencies, including the danger of the building being “liable to partially or fully collapse” in determining that it is a public nuisance.
The public hearing will provide the opportunity for all “interested parties such as owners, mortgagees and lien holders” to provide input before city officials make a decision about the building’s future, according to a certified letter dated Nov. 4 sent to the owners. The city could order the building repaired or demolished, unless proof is provided at the hearing of a “reasonable projected timeline” to bring the property into compliance, the letter says.
City officials first notified the owners of the building, Curious Twins Paranormal and Ghost Tours of San Antonio, of their concerns about the building and ordered entry to it stopped Aug. 22. The owners conduct tours of the building, and they resumed the tours in September as a member program rather than it being open to the public after consultations with a lawyer.
Owner Fred Garza-Guzman said the notice he received of the city’s plan to inspect the building in October surprised him. Plans to meet with the mayor before the inspection failed, he said.
“We reached out several times through email and made repeated attempts to set up a meeting, but we did not hear back,” Garza-Guzman said.
City Administrator Michele Warwas said the city would have no comment on the matter until after the meeting, but she noted that the owners never contacted her after she offered to set up a meeting.
”We were willing to meet with them,” Warwas said.
Garza-Guzman said the offer to meet came after the city had already moved forward with its plans.
“After the notice of inspection was posted, we were offered an appointment more than a month later,” Garza-Guzman said. “Because of the legal nature of the situation, we chose to continue through the process as required by city code.”
DeWitt County Publishing will report on the hearing in the Nov. 26 issue.
