Alamogordo Officials: Sahara Apartments Set for Demolition ASAP

ALAMOGORDO –City Commissioners directed staff to move forward with the demolition of the dilapidated Sahara Apartments as quickly as possible at their City Commission meeting Tuesday.

In April, the city received an asbestos report on the apartments and the results indicated that there was asbestos in nearly every area of the building.

During the April 24 City Commission meeting, City Manager Maggie Paluch said the city is likely going to have to hire a certified company that will demolish the building and has the abilities to maintain the asbestos during the demolition.

The city will now lien the property for the total amount it will cost the city to demolish the buildings. The cost is about $401,000.

The city has an available balance of $230,540 with additional funds of $84,202. In total, the city has $314,742 available to for the demolition project.

Additional funding to complete the project will be obtained from the FY18 fund and a portion from FY19 and funds readily available for the project.

History

During Tuesday’s meeting, City Attorney Petria Schreiber gave a brief history of the Sahara Apartments.

• July 11, 2010 the Sahara Apartments were flooded during a heavy rainstorm and the residents had to be evacuated
• Nine violations were found and the property was declared unfit for human occupancy as defined in International Property Maintenance Code (IPMC)
• On Aug. 2, 2010, a 10-day notice was sent to the property owner, who responded asking for a 30-day extension, which was granted.
• During those 30 days, no work was performed and the city has no contact from the owner. A second 10-day notice was then sent and returned as unclaimed.
• After the notice period expired, the property was declared uninhabitable and posted along with an order to close the vacant structures.
• On Nov. 18, 2010, the property owner told the city he would be receiving a settlement in 4 to 6 weeks and would then begin repairs, and if it was not enough then the structures would be demolished.
• In December 2013, the neighbors started complaining about odors, infestations, vagrant problems and a deterioration of the entire neighborhood due to the condition of the apartments.
• Two fires occurred – December 2014 and July 2015
• July 2015, Code Enforcement Manager Lora Nelson calls Karen Kriger, owner of the Sahara Apartments and asks for permission to enter and inspect the structures. Krieger denies the request for entry.
• Nelson applies and is granted, an Administrative Search Warrant to go into the apartments.
• On Aug. 11, 2015, Resolution 2015-35 passed the City Commission, declaring the structures to be dilapidated and need of repair.
• Krieger appealed the determination and a public hearing was held on Sept. 22, 2015 where the Commission upheld the Resolution.
• Krieger filed her appeal in District Court on Oct. 10, 2015. The city answered on Nov. 20, 2015.
• The case was dismissed with prejudice on March 9, 2018 due to failure to prosecute.

City moves forward

City Engineering Manager Bob Johnson said the city is proceeding forward on how to accelerate the demolition process.

He said two options are formal advertisement for competitive bidding. The process and guidelines will require an average of 90 days to develop technical scope and specifications, advertising, bidding and award.

Abatement and demolition would likely not commence until early October.

Another option would be Cooperative Education Services (CES). Process and guidelines would allow for abatements and demolition to commence in 30 days or less, after proposal submission and acceptance.

City Commissioners approved the motion to demolish the Sahara Apartments using funding from the budget of FY2018 and FY2019 and the funds available from Project EN1809 to cheers from the audience.