The Dierks City Council Votes to condemn three properties

The Dierks City Council met Monday night in the Dierks Community Building and voted to condemn three properties within the Dierks City Limits.

According to Police Chief John McKee, one house is currently being torn down by Horatio State Bank. One resident is working to demolish a house on his property, but several other residents were not progressing with the clean up process. Therefore, aldermen voted to condemn two houses and the former Napa building, which was severely damaged by a fire. Dierks City Attorney Dustin Bissell will now proceed with the condemnation process within the Howard County Circuit Court system.

Chief McKee also reported the School Resource Officer, Zack Shankles has completed his SRO training and is a certified school resource officer.

Mayor Ronnie Cogburn informed the council that the city’s park grant application was submitted after the deadline and was denied. However, Cogburn reported the city received a clean Water/Sewer Audit.

Aldermen voted to adjust the sewer portion of a resident’s water bill and they voted to raise the water meter deposit for rent houses in Dierks from $100 to $200 starting July 1.

Aldermen also heard a report from Windstream representatives, David Avery and Tracy Welch. Avery reported Windstream has completed a fiber network upgrade project in Dierks and will serve 600 households. He said the project took 30 days to complete.