Owner of derelict home gets 30-day extension from council
A woman whose house was declared a nuisance by Kamloops city council in August has a few more weeks to try to complete a city-ordered inspection on her property.
Lynda Watt’s house at 356 McGowan Ave. in North Kamloops was damaged by fire in 2008, and subsequently declared uninhabitable by Interior Health inspectors.
Since then, the house has been standing vacant and has been the subject of a number of neighbourhood complaints.
However, Watt told city council this week that a report on the state of her property delivered to council in August contains outdated information and doesn’t tell her side of the story.
“The house was in bad shape. I am a hoarder, as are both of my parents, as was my sister,” Watt told council.
But, she said, she’s been working hard to clean the mess — up to three hours every night — and has thrown out the worst of the material.
She said she has a plan to get the house back to a state in which it can be safely occupied and has already paid for new windows and siding.
While she agreed with council that her property needs a professional inspection — which would identify any mould issues and determine whether the structure is able to be renovated and re-occupied — she said she won’t be able to pay for one in the original 30-day period allotted by the city, as she is waiting on money from her mother’s estate.
While Coun. Marg Spina suggested council give Watt a six-month extension to complete the report, that was eventually whittled down to one month.
If Watt doesn’t have the funds to have the inspection done by Oct. 11, the city will have the option of ordering one itself, then adding the cost to Watt’s tax bill.
Once the report is in, Watt will work with the city on a timeline for repairs to the property.
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