FARGO (KFGO) – The city of Fargo will proceed with the demolition of a condemned house. The City Inspections Department has dealt with the house for several years with no resolution.
Danial Curtis, the owner of the house at 924 5th Street South, failed to get the necessary permits to comply with city codes. The home was described by inspectors as “uninhabitable and unsafe.”
In September, the city commission voted to order the house vacated immediately and torn down by mid-November. Curtis refused to leave and filed a notice of appeal to the North Dakota Supreme Court in October. After review, the court determined his brief was insufficient and dismissed the appeal earlier this month. Commissioners have approved hiring a contractor to raze the house and garage. Five contractors sought the contract. Mayor Tim Mahoney says Pioneer LLC, had the highest bid and was selected to do the demolition, scheduled for next month.
He says cost is a consideration but the neighborhood has put up with issues for years and now it’s time to get it taken care of.
Neighbors have complained and are frightened by the number of people who have been living at the house, drug deals, dangerous violations of the city codes, rubbish, and some 550 police calls made there since December of 2018. A drug bust earlier this year led to four arrests at the house.
