Not just an eye sore

The abandoned and derelict structures in Moorcroft's residential area are not only an eye sore, but a couple of them have been severely compromised by fire and are unsafe. "Like the trailer [on Goshen]," Councilman Rob Stewart shared a specific example, "it's abandoned, rodent infested, there are holes in the roof [and] the insolation is coming down – it's a hazard."

Town Attorney Pat Carpenter has attempted to contact the lawyer representing the owner of this trailer house, but has not yet received any response, commenting, "That's a dead-end."

Carpenter is willing to move forward in removing the mobile home, however, "I would have to spend some time with our ordinance, though, and make sure that what we've got right now fits what we need to accomplish that. I kind of think it doesn't and we're going to have to update our ordinance; we're certainly going to have to update our ordinances as far as when we get into actual structures and condemn structures. We don't have anything that's sufficient to accomplish that."

The attorney admitted not having conducted this process before, but when the question arose, he spoke with a fellow attorney who has worked through the steps and was advised “to strap in because it’s going to be a ride”.

This trailer is not the only dangerous structure within the town residential blocks, the derelict houses on Crook Street and Cheyenne Ave have been left in situ for many decades and, when a fire destroyed much of the structural integrity in the one on the corner, the town council warned the owners of the danger to children at play and others who may get too close, to no avail.

Carpenter opined when asked that the town would have difficulty recouping money spent in such an endeavor.

Beyond the prohibitive and possibly unrecoverable cost, a question of responsibility could become problematic.

“My understanding,” Mayor Ben Glenn stated in a recent meeting, “Is that if you condemn it, you’re announcing there’s a problem so you have to mitigate that problem and that is all on us. It has nothing to do with us,”

Glenn subsequently advised, “We have to look at it as money out of the town. We want it to look better, but it doesn’t have anything to do with us.”