Photo by  SAMANTHA WHITE

The Burns Town Apartments in downtown Burns.

Now the question is — where do the residents of the Burns Town Apartments (BTA) go?

The Burns City Council held a special meeting on Monday, Aug. 24, to discuss the fate of the apartment building after it, once again, failed to pass a safety inspection.

Interim City Manager Judy Erwin told the council that she, Burns Fire Chief Scott Williamson, and the deputy state fire marshal conducted an inspection of the building on Wednesday, Aug. 19, and determined that several safety issues that were brought forward at an earlier time had not been corrected. Erwin asked the council to give her the directive to pursue the closure of the building with the assistance of the state fire marshal, and take the next step in the process.

The condition of the apartment building has been an ongoing issue for the council for quite some time. Williamson and the deputy state fire marshal conducted an inspection on April 30 with the permission of the landlord and tenants. They found water leaking through the roof and running down the walls, unsafe floors, lack of heating, electrical boxes with wires protruding, and other issues. A letter was sent to the parties responsible for the building on May 8 detailing a list of corrections that needed to be made within 30 days.

Although some work was done on the building, the council passed a resolution on June 24 declaring it a dangerous building and ordering the responsible person to remove or abate the dangerous building within 10 days.

At its meeting on July 8, the council agreed to move forward with the abatement process, and on July 14, Erwin sent a letter to the landlord, Ken Zitek, informing him of his options.

Again, some work was done to correct the issues, but the building failed to pass the latest inspection.

Erwin said the next steps are for her to contact the state fire marshal and work with him, close the building, relocate the residents, and proceed from there.

Mayor Jerry Woodfin asked what recourse the owner of the building will have after it is closed.

Erwin said that, because the building was deemed dangerous and unsafe for people to live there, the owner can either sell the building or have licensed contractors repair it.

One of the residents said she is on a fixed income and can’t afford an increase in rent payments.

She asked, “Where am I supposed to go?”

Woodfin said the city isn’t going to be held responsible should someone be injured at the BTA. He acknowledged that improvements were made, but there are still safety issues, such as gaps between the wall and floor.

Williamson said there have been safety code violations since 2012, and Zitek is responsible for the safety of the building for both tenants and those who go there, such as first responders. There are still problems with the fire alarm pull station, electrical wires, heating systems, smoke detectors, and garbage in the rooms.

Williamson added that painting and sheet rock work was done, but covering up the problem doesn’t solve it.

Zitek said he completed a lot of the work that was requested and said more could be done if he had more time. He added that some tenants have destroyed rooms, adding to the amount of work, and some tenants failed to pay rent.

Williamson reiterated that having tenants perform repairs isn’t safe. The work should be completed by a licensed contractor. He recommended that a structural engineer inspect the building, and if he/she confirms it is reparable, have licensed contractors perform the work.

Zitek asked for time to hire a structural engineer before the council moves forward with the closure.

Williamson said a report by a structural engineer would answer some questions, but there are still ongoing issues with the safety of the building that have not been fixed, despite having years to complete the repairs.

Councilor Pam Smerski said it is a heart-breaking situation for the tenants, but it is the responsibility of the council to protect the citizens.

The council then voted unanimously to move forward with the failure to comply decision.