Woman cited for dilapidated building

Despite the recent death of her husband, county and Largo fire officials run out of patience after years of issuing warnings.

By MICHAEL SANDLER, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published April 13, 2002

LARGO -- For years, code enforcement officials warned a property owner to clean up an abandoned building that has become a home for squatters and a nuisance to neighbors.

The owner died earlier this year. Despite the unfortunate timing, officials are getting tough with his widow.

The Pinellas County Building Department and Largo Fire Rescue issued dual citations this week against the woman, who now owns the dilapidated building at 1748 S Missouri Ave.

Each carries a fine of about $130 and a court date.

The property was owned by William Little, who died in February after a long illness. His wife, Eunice Little, inherited the property.

Mrs. Little left a message saying she wanted to comment for this story. But she could not be reached. A reporter made three trips to her home and left several messages on her answering machine this week.

Robert Nagin, director of the Pinellas County Building Department, said the timing is unfortunate but necessary. He said his office has tried to work with the Clearwater couple the past two years without resolution.

"The owners have time and time again requested extensions, because they were going to do one thing or another," said Nagin. "They just fell flat on their commitment."

Records show that the building department first attempted to warn them in February 2000. Nagin said the Littles told him they would fix the building, then said they would demolish it, and ultimately tried to sell the property.

Each time, they were let off with a warning.

"Every time that we had done any kind of enforcement, they are very hard to reach," said Nagin. "Finally when they would contact us, they would assure us they would repair it."

A code enforcement official tried to serve the citation Thursday, but Little was not home. It was passed on to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, which can serve citations after hours. Once Little receives it, she will be issued a court date.

If she fails to appear or does not comply, she could be fined up to $500. The county cannot take control of her property, but it can seek an injunction. Eventually, a judge could put her in jail.

"We don't have the right to go on her property," said County Attorney David Sadowsky. "The goal is that a person would rather not go through the judicial system and pay a fine, and that's our goal, too."

Neighbors say the building is an eyesore and have complained that vagrants use it as a shelter. They find trash, shopping carts and broken windows from vandals who use the property as a target for paint pellet guns.

Little owes the Pinellas County Department of Environmental Management at least $1,900 in liens for cutting the grass on her property and cleaning up garbage.

The building is one block outside Largo's city limits but falls within its fire district. Fire Marshal Mark Jones said his department found kerosene leaking from 55-gallon drums left on the property and that the structure was a safety risk.

"There's lot of people working on it," said Jones. "It's kind of a tough situation right now with the death of the owner."

-- Michael Sandler can be reached at 445-4174 or sandler@sptimes.com.

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