ASHLAND — The Ashland County Board of Health approved an emergency condemnation of a Hayesville home at Tuesday night’s monthly meeting.
The condemnation notice was posted at 54 S. Mechanic St. on March 3 when the woman residing there was out of the house, Health Commissioner Vickie Taylor told the board.
“I did not show the pictures tonight because nobody needs to see those pictures. They were awful,” Taylor said.
The health department received a tip about the conditions of the home from a nephew of the woman. The nephew saw the home while helping his aunt after a fall and reported the unsanitary conditions.
Those unsanitary conditions included human and animal sewage around the home, hoarding and potentially no running water.
Director of Environmental Health Kimberly Wayman could not confirm if the water was running or not.
“It’s not the worst one I’ve seen, honestly, but it was still pretty bad. It was sad and I’m glad that she’s getting some help,” Wayman said.
The woman has been released from a care unit after the fall and the Ashland County Department of Jobs and Family Services is providing temporary living conditions among other support.
The department will not lift the condemnation until all unsanitary conditions are resolved.
“We have to do the final inspection before it can be opened up again for somebody to live there. I will tell you that the people that will come in and clean that will be in full PPE (Personal Protective Equipment),” Taylor told the board.
If the owner fails to resolve the unsanitary conditions, the village may pursue to declare the property a public nuisance and order its demolition.
Demolition could result in a lien on the property to be paid as taxes if the village hired contractors to demolish the building.
Other business
- The board approved a health department employee smoking policy, which requires employees to clock out and smoke off the premises.
- Wayman has begun identifying all grease traps across the county for better monitoring.
- Taylor has started to examine dates, times and locations for the mobile health clinic this summer.
- The health department will release its annual report after final edits and approval.