The City of Montesano plans to continue pursuing abatements of problem properties despite the potential of excessive cost.

Each abatement could cost as much as $10,000 in legal fees just to process through Superior Court if the abatement is contested. Additionally, the city will need to mitigate problems at the property for additional costs. Mayor Vini Samuel warned that cleaning the property (which could mean demolishing and hauling away the rubble, in some circumstances) could cost “$100,000 to $200,000.” That figure was disputed — it could be less than $100,000.

A committee of the City Council comprised of Dan Wood, Dave Skaramuca and Kim Cristobal recommended the city pursue abatements.

“It’s not just that someone drives through town and says, ‘Gee, look what I’m seeing in Montesano’ or ‘Look what I’m seeing in my neighborhood in Montesano’ — there are health and behavioral and criminal activity risks in each of these situations,” Wood said. “As a committee we express our support for some very direct action knowing that will cost money.”

Mayor Samuel warned the council to take care of the city’s financial livelihood.

“I think abatements are very important. Here’s my rub from a policy perspective: My No. 1 priority in the City of Montesano is fiscal responsibility,” Samuel said. “Where I’m not willing to go is to our ending fund balance. I am, however, willing to go somewhere else. That may mean we don’t do another project, that might mean we cut something else. As the year goes, we’ll be able to assess what we can’t do. Not only is it money, it’s time.”

“I think it’s worth it, by the way,” Mayor Samuel added. “I think keeping properties clean and safe is important on so many different levels, including the economics of it.”

Early in 2016 when Samuel and a mostly new council took office, the city faced a significant deficit. The city pulled out of the deficit through cost savings and some layoffs. The mayor and council now have a surplus that Samuel wants to see built to $500,000.

“That is the bare minimum for our budget on the edge of healthy fund balance,” Samuel explained during the May 8 council meeting.

Councilman Wood pushed back saying the abatements should be a priority.

“You have a healthy fund balance for two reasons — one, for emergencies and, two, for flexibility in doing the work. We are a heck of a lot healthier than we were in January 2016,” Wood said.

All of the council members supported the city moving forward with abatements.

“We might have things in the budget that aren’t as high a priority that we have to be willing to cut so we’re not going into fiscal irresponsibility,” Councilman Robert Hatley said. “And I think abatement should be one of the highest priorities. My kids grow up here, and for the future of Montesano, we need things to be safe. We have rules in place for a reason and they need to be enforced.”

Councilman Clint Bryson said the city needs to stay the course.

“When we decided to go down this road, we were all committed to seeing it through, and that may lead to having to make some choices, but I think it’s something we definitely need to explore and move forward on,” he said.

Councilman Ian Cope was worried the council would lose momentum as it has with abatements in the past.

“This is something that’s been constant in my time on the council and it hasn’t gone away. In my time in living in Montesano, it’s certainly gotten worse,” Cope said. “It’s a point where we’re up to the limit to where we can continue on to where we have before and have things not get better, or we can start to move forward and move beyond the past point.”

Cristobal noted that it’s more important than beautification.

“These aren’t about properties that look bad. This boils down to health and safety issues,” she said. “This is about people not living in sanitary conditions. This is about police and fire potentially entering buildings that are not safe for them. This is about our families living around these areas.”