Sept. 8
September 8, 2009
Wilda Marie Boudreaux Molaison
September 10, 2009
After months of delay, Thibodaux’s Sargent family finally gave the Thibodaux City Council the go ahead to demolish their home.
The 1221 Narrow St. residence has been on the city’s condemned property list since October 2008, after City Inspector Errol Price ruled that it created a danger to nearby residents.
The city set an initial condemnation hearing for Dec. 16, 2008.
Alvin Sargent, the son of deceased property owner Beatrice Waller-Sargent, received a notice at his Seguin, Texas, home requesting his presence at the December hearing. Unable to attend, he sent a response by mail instead.
In it, he asked the city council for an extension – just enough time to renovate the property.
“The interior of the house is still in good shape,” Sargent wrote to councilmen, “but there are some areas on the exterior that need mending.”
The city council acquiesced, giving Sargent 90 days – including 30 days to file the needed paperwork declaring him the sole property owner – to begin restoring the family home.
But when the city council convened Feb. 17, no one from the Sargent family attended.
A family battle brewed over ownership ensued. The Thibodaux City Council issued another extension until July 7, which was followed by another request for more time from Sargent. Other family members, including Waller-Sargent’s youngest grandson, Travis Sargent, appeared asking the council to demolish the Narrow Street residence and bill the family for the work.
“The city has to do what it has to do,” Travis Sargent told the council in July. “I don’t know what’s been said about the property, but we can’t do anything with it.”
At Councilman Varick Taylor Sr.’s recommendation, the council elected to honor Alvin Sargent’s request for another extension. The final hearing date before the council was set for Sept. 1.
Waller-Sargent’s grandson Lloyd Sargent appeared on behalf of the family, echoing Travis Sargent’s sentiment that his grandmother’s property be razed and the family billed.
“The family has agreed that the city should take over the property and clean it up,” Lloyd Sargent said. “Just bill us for whatever the cost is because this has gone on way too long.”
In other business, the city council also increased its utility reconnect fees after more than 30 years.
A committee determined a $20 per meter reconnect fee was more in line with the rates charged in surrounding parishes and municipalities.
Meters reconnected after normal work hours – 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. – will incur an additional $20 fee, making the total $40.
Thibodaux initially established a $5 reconnect fee for delinquent accounts in 1975.
The new rate is intended to curb late and non-payment of utility accounts, according to city officials.
After months of extensions, family members of deceased property owner Beatrice Waller-Sargent have agreed to have the City of Thibodaux demolish her vacant home. * Photo by SOHPIA RUFFIN
