The Hobart Board of Works and Safety denied a waiver of lien request from a man who said he wants to be a “better steward” of a now-empty lot at 229 N. Ohio St.
The empty lot was the former site of a limestone ranch home that was closed down by the city in 2011 and demolished in 2023 after being described as “uninhabitable” by officials.
“It’s like Halloween in there,” former City Building Department official Mike Hannigan said at the time.
Kristian Boruff told the board he inherited the property from his mom, Karen Boruff, who passed away last year.
Now he wants to clean up the lot and make improvements, but is financially unable to go forward because of some $19,000 in liens placed on the property by city officials.
“I was wondering if there was any way we could relieve the liens. I’m not my mother and would like to take care of the property,” Boruff said.
Mayor Josh Huddlestun denied his request, stating that the city placed the liens because of the expenses incurred to clean up the house and property.
“These are true costs to taxpayers,” Huddlestun said.
Boruff’s late mother, a veteran, was the former owner of the house that was closed down in 2011.
Karen Borfuff was removed from the house before the city’s inspection and she voluntarily agreed to be transported to the hospital for a health assessment.
City officials at the time said the Ohio Street residence had garbage piled waist-high and items were soaked with cat urine. Living and dead cats were inside the house, and a raccoon also was trapped in the home.
Workers filled 11 industrial-size dumpsters with items from the home, according to reports at that time.
Clerk-Treasurer Deborah Longer said the Ohio Street property was recognized as a problem as long ago as 2006 when neighbors began calling and complaining to former Mayor Linda Buzinec.
Longer said officials attempted to help Boruff and her father, Richard Boruff, who also lived there, with cleanup efforts.
Those efforts were thwarted by the homeowners, she said.
“It got worse and worse,” she said.
Longer said the cost of the liens incurred by the city doesn’t include the cost to demolish the house, which was $13,500.
That demolition was paid for through Community Development Block Grant funds.
“The lien doesn’t include the cost of demolition,” she said.
Deborah Laverty is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
