Court orders demo of Polo house ‘unfit for human occupancy’

POLO – A house on South Division Avenue in Polo that was declared “unfit for human occupancy” is set to be demolished after almost a year in court.

On Dec. 13, Ogle County Judge Anthony Peska ordered that the city of Polo be allowed to proceed with demolishing 601 S. Division Ave.

The ruling came after the property owner, Ahmed Farraj of Polo, failed to follow a Nov. 8 court order requiring him to pay $35,000 for repairs by Nov. 17, according to court documents.

Another $25,000 was to be paid in five installments of $5,000 on or before Dec. 13 and 27, Jan. 10 and 24, and Feb. 7.

“In the event of any delinquent payment, the stay on this judgment and order for demolition shall be vacated and the order going into effect,” Peska wrote in the Nov. 8 order. “In the event the property is brought into compliance, this order shall be vacated, and the complaint shall be dismissed with the issue of the city of Polo’s attorneys fees reserved.”

The money – which was not to be touched absent a court order – was to be deposited into a trust account owned by Polo city attorney M. Thomas Suits, the Nov. 8 order shows.

Instead of depositing funds into the trust account, Farraj paid $20,000 directly to a contractor – Eli’s Construction of Walcott, Iowa – which constituted a delinquent payment, Peska wrote.

“The judgment and order for demolition were stayed provided that the defendant [Farraj] complied with the other terms specified in the Nov. 8 order,” Peska wrote in his Dec. 13 order.

He noted that Farraj signed the Nov. 8 order, “evidencing his agreement thereto.”

Farraj was renting the first and second floors to separate people, Polo building inspector Casper Manheim noted in a letter Aug. 16, 2022.

During the Polo City Council’s Dec. 18 meeting, the council unanimously voted to accept a $19,885 bid from Bocker Excavating Inc. of Polo to demolish the house at 601 S. Division Ave.

Bocker Excavating’s was the lowest of three bids. Bill’s Excavating Services of Polo entered a $23,500 bid, and Gray Excavating of Polo bid $40,000.

“Any judgment would not include the garage,” Suits told City Council members. “If you decided you wanted the excavators to take the garage down – because that was not part of the condemned property, which was the house – that would be a city expense, totally, without going toward the judgment to the current owner.”

Once the demolition is complete, Farraj still will own the property, Suits said.

He said the city plans to ask the court to grant a lien on all of the Ogle County properties that Farraj owns.

“We still have to petition the court for attorney fees and the expenses of the demolition,” Suits said.

The city of Polo first filed a request in Ogle County court to order the demolition of 601 S. Division Ave. on Dec. 20, 2022.

The request was made more than 18 months after Manheim wrote a June 11, 2021, letter to Farraj that the property meets the standards of “unfit for human occupancy,” per the city’s 2006 Property Maintenance Code.

Manheim repeated the statement in two later letters, at which points he also wrote that the house needed to be demolished because repairs would cost more than the house is worth.

In a May 25, 2021, letter, Manheim wrote that, “We have had several complaints from your tenants, dealing with holes in the floor, exposed wiring and other repair concerns.”

He instructed Farraj to call him so they could set up a time for Manheim to do a walk-through of the property.

“The first floor is in such disrepair from plumbing, electrical and filth,” Manheim wrote in the June 11, 2021, and June 1, 2022, letters. “No one can live on the first floor until repairs are made and inspected by myself. A building permit will be required. A licensed plumber and electrician will be needed to do the work, along with it be inspected by myself.”

The June 11, 2021, letter notified Farraj that he had 10 days to have the first-floor occupant moved out and to remove all rubbish from inside the house, the basement and the yard. In the June 1, 2022, letter, Farraj was instructed that all renters must be out by June 30, 2022, and the yard and driveway must be cleaned up.

That goes against zoning regulations, as the building was zoned for single-family use only, he wrote.

Additionally, “it was never designed or had safeguards between the two floors.”

Members of the Polo Board of Health voted Aug. 26, 2022, to condemn the property. At the time, the board included Mayor Doug Knapp, City Clerk Sydney Bartelt and now former Police Chief Troy Randall.

Farraj appealed the ruling, and an appeals hearing was held Sept. 19, 2022, before the Polo City Council. The council voted unanimously to affirm the health board’s decision.