City council accepts cost of recent demolition despite last-minute protest

Blaine city council voted unanimously to accept the cost of the recent demolition of a dilapidated downtown building, despite a last-minute protest by the building owner’s widow.

During a public hearing at the August 12 meeting, Blaine city council accepted the public works department’s expenses of $283,178 and directed that a lien be placed on the property located at 665 Peace Portal Drive.

The building located at 665 Peace Portal Drive was demolished by the city of Blaine in April. It was formerly occupied by the Costa Azul restaurant and was pest-ridden, structurally unsound and decaying, posing a risk to public safety. The demolition was carried out by Dirt Works Bellingham, which received a $247,836 contract from the city. The public works department’s expenses submitted to city council are higher than this contract price because they include additional costs such as staff time and attorney fees.

According to the Whatcom County assessor’s office, the property owner was Guenter Mannhalt of Seattle. Mannhalt’s widow, Theresa Norris, appeared at the August 12 meeting and asked for a postponement of city council’s decision, saying that Mannhalt passed away of cancer in April.

She said that prior to his death, Mannhalt had hired his own engineers to try and resolve the issue with the city of Blaine, which had been pursuing the building’s demolition since at least May of 2017, when a demolition notice was issued to Mannhalt. “My husband was not ignoring you guys,” she said.

Norris also said that there was a “question of whether [the property] belongs to someone else.” She said that she has been trying to reach out to lawyers for assistance, but that they have been unable to help her due to conflicts of interest or work backlogs. She asked city council to “postpone this process” while these issues are sorted out.

Following Norris’ testimony, city attorney Jon Sitkin addressed city council, saying that the last-minute protest was not tenable, because numerous attempts had been made over a two-year period to contact not only Mannhalt but also his children and potential heirs. Notices were published in a newspaper, and the city also sent notices to an attorney who had acted for Mannhalt. “[The attorney] never asserted anyone else owned the property,” said Sitkin.

Sitkin also noted that in order to be valid under the Uniform Code for the Abatement of Dangerous Buildings, a protest must be made in writing, and that no written protest had been received from Norris or anyone else. Sitkin recommended that city council confirm the public work’s department’s charges. He also recommended that the charges be passed along as a lien, or obligation, on the property, rather than as a personal debt. “It is a safer option” in case the property owner does turn out to be someone else, he said.

After waiting 30 days to see if city council’s decision is appealed to Whatcom County Superior Court, a lien will be placed upon the property at 665 Peace Portal Drive in the amount of $283,178.03 plus any costs incurred in filing or processing the lien and any related attorney fees and costs. At the public hearing, Sitkin recommended an interest rate of 7 percent.