MOUNT VERNON — The Board of Property Maintenance Appeals ordered the property owner of a Marma Drive home to demolish a long-time eyesore within 180 days.
The appeals board voted on Wednesday to condemn and demolish the home at 2 Marma Drive.
If owner Jeanne Armstrong fails to comply with the demolition order, the city can hire a contractor to complete the work and add the cost to her property taxes.
Assistant City Inspector Brian Marvin said his office first investigated complaints in 2011.
However, Health Commissioner Zach Green said the health department has received solid waste complaints since July 1996. Green is also a member of the appeals board.
According to property maintenance office records, repeat visits to the home in 2017, 2018, and 2019 showed increasing deterioration, including a fallen fence, junk vehicles, wood rot, and broken windows.
“As best we know, the home was vacated around 2018. The water was turned off in 2018,” Marvin told the appeals board.
Marvin’s involvement stems from a neighbor’s complaint in April 2025. On visiting the home, Marvin saw a buzzard crawl out of an opening in the wall of the house near the attic.
Repeated exterior inspections since April revealed a window separating from the house, a broken and rotting porch, and missing and boarded-up windows.
Marvin sent several violation letters and visited the home several times between April 25 and June 13. Receiving no response, he requested a search warrant.
Search warrant reveals unfit conditions
Marvin, Mount Vernon fire and police, and Knox Public Health executed the search warrant on July 2.
According to Marvin’s report, the home was permeated with urine and bodily waste from rats and other wildlife that had moved in over the years.
Additionally, debris and trash, including food items the occupants had left, packed the kitchen and surrounding rooms.
Moisture entering the house resulted in water damage to the walls and structural elements.
“We got about as far as the dining room before we were told to back out again because of the state of the home,” Marvin said.
“There was debris piled up in the kitchen. We heard rats audibly squealing as we entered. So we backed out, and at that point I began the condemnation process.”
After officials executed the search warrant, the Mount Vernon Fire Department declared the home unsafe for fire personnel and flagged it as “Do not Enter.”
Knox Public Health declared the property unfit for human habitation.
‘I need time’
Homeowner Armstrong told the appeals board she did not know about Wednesday’s hearing until the previous week.
She said that was not enough time to get legal representation, and requested a continuance until she could do so.
When Law Director Rob Broeren asked why she did not respond to the certified letters the city sent, she said, “I don’t believe I got it. We weren’t there that much.”
Armstrong said her husband was disabled, so the couple stayed with their children because she could no longer care for him.
“With no water, we couldn’t stay up there,” she said. “So it’s kind of hard to do anything, to clean anything, when you don’t have the water to do anything.”
Armstrong said she and family members worked at the house this week, cleaning debris and rebuilding the porch.
“We’ve cleared out a lot of stuff already, and we are willing to do whatever we need to do, but I need time to do it.”
“Jeanne, with all due respect, and I have empathy for you, this has been an issue for nearly three decades. And you’re asking for time,” health commissioner Green told Armstrong.
A long-time eyesore for neighbors
Fire chief and board member Chad Christopher said he wanted to apologize to the neighbors.
“We’ve seen some pretty bad structures in the fire service in our time, and this one ranks right up there. … As a fire department, we will not even go into your structure if there’s something wrong with it,” he said.
He also noted that, given Armstrong’s construction background, she should realize it will be costly to repair the structure so that it is inhabitable and done on time.
The board voted unanimously to condemn and demolish the house. The code enforcement department will work with Armstrong to monitor progress.
