Mayor Defers Vote to Repair Deteriorating Historic House

Help for a deteriorating house in Old Town Manasssas will have to wait as council members remain split on what to do about the historic house at 9300 Prescott Avenue.

City staff recommended to council at Monday's regularly-scheduled council meeting that the 1905 Queen Anne-style home that sits at the intersection of Quarry Road and Prescott Avenue be 'mothballed' to prevent further deterioration at a cost to city taxpayers totaling nearly $90,000.

The move by the city to repair the home comes after the property owner, Dorothy M. Feaganes failed to submit a acceptable plan of action to secure, repair or remove the house. .

The process would entail demolishing the front and side porch of the home, which has deteriorated to the point of it being deemed unsafe, according to City Development staff. The siding would also be repaired and roof replaced, among other things to ensure the building would be preserved and no longer present a danger to public safety. 

The home meets the state's requirements of blight abatement and therefore the city has the legal right to demolish all or some of the home, according to Manassas City Attorney Martin Crim.

But things took a twist at Monday's meeting when the home's owner's daughter  stood before council, asking that the porch not be removed because she had bought the appropriate columns to restore it.

"My mother and me do not want the porch removed; that to me is not securing and protecting this historical property," Terry Feaganes, of Alexandria, Va., said. "I have contacted several contractors and they've said to take off the front porch would further deteriorate the property."

Feaganes said she has also received a letter from the Historical Society in Richmond recommending that the porch not be removed.

Feaganes said she bought the appropriate columns for the porch but was told by City Development staff they were the wrong columns. She also said she was denied a permit to replace the columns.

City staff confirmed that a permit for some minor structural repairs on the porch was issued, but that the building code requires that work progress on permits within six months or it expires.

The condition of the old house is not a new issue for the city, which has been going back and forth with the Feaganes family about the condition of the house and needed repairs for at least five years.

The owner is an elderly woman and was not at the meeting Monday because she was sick. Her daughter told council members Monday the property has been in her family since 1959 and they have made efforts to work on the house, but "due to unforseen circumstances," have not been able to make the needed repairs.

Feagnes said the family gave a "substantial amount of money" to a contractor to secure/replace the roof of the house, but he never showed back up to do the work.

As a result, Council Member Mark Wolfe recommended a second motion that would give the owners one last chance to make repairs to the property and would not expend any public funds.

The motion, which was seconded by Council Member Marc Aveni,  would give the house's owner 30 days to demolish or make repairs to the porch and 90 days to demolish or make repairs to the house. The motion, which also received support from  Council Member Jonathan Way, would allow the needed repairs be met at the expense of the homeowner and not the taxpayers. If the specifics of the motion are not met within the time allowed, the city could demolish the home at a cost of $20,000 to $30,000.

Council Member Aveni said he supports Wolfe's motion because the option "puts the responsibilty where it has always belonged with the owner of the house, not with the tax payer of the city of Manassas."

Council Members Andy Harrover, Sheryl Bass and Steve Randolph voted in favor of the original motion that would appropriate $88,000 to "mothball" the property in an effort to prevent further deterioration.

"My position is no secret. I am not in favor of demolishing the house at the end of ninety days," Harrover said.

Council Member Randolph said the house is falling apart and the owner's have had multiple opportunities over the years to fix up the property and they have not done so. "I would like to make a real effort to save a major historic property in the City of Manassas," said Randolph, who voted in favor of spending city funds to to secure the home. 

The repairs being recommended by city staff does not "guarantee the continued integretiy of the house," Manassas City Mayor Harry J. (Hal) Parrish ll said. The mayor, who issues the deciding vote in the event of a tie, executed his right to defer his vote to the next regulary-scheduled council meeting on Feb. 27.

Any tax payer money spent to repair or secure the house would be paid back at the homeowner's expense. The lien would be paid off when the property is sold, according to City Development staff.  If the property is not sold after two years, then the city could force the tax lien sale of the home.