Vergas hires contractor to remove court-ordered garage for $5,500

Vergas moved a long-running nuisance case toward its end Tuesday, May 19, selecting a $5,500 bid from Sonnenberg Excavating to remove the garage at 350 South Pelican Avenue.

Council Member Bruce Albright said the garage removal had been decreed in court years earlier, underscoring that the work was not the start of a dispute but the point where the city finally moved to carry out a legal obligation. The property has sat in the city’s nuisance system for years, and the removal now gives Vergas a visible result after a lengthy enforcement process.

City records show the address was already drawing concern as far back as November and December 2022, when a Planning Commission agenda described 350 Pelican Ave. as having garbage all over the yard, a garage falling down and vehicles on the property. An August 2024 Planning Commission agenda still carried a nuisance file labeled “Nuisance - 350 S Pelican Ave.pdf,” showing the issue remained active more than a year later.

The May 19 council packet included a document labeled “City Employees Quote for Garage removal.pdf,” and it said the property owner at 350 South Pelican Avenue had signed a consent form authorizing the city to remove the dilapidated garage. The city attorney asked the Vergas Planning Commission to make a formal recommendation that the council proceed with abatement, adding another step of review before the contractor was selected.

Vergas says its Planning Commission was established May 1, 2006, and the body has played a central role in nuisance and permit matters. The city also maintains a nuisance policy and a Chapter 92 health-and-safety nuisance code, which give officials the framework to address unsafe or unsightly property conditions. In this case, that system moved from complaint and review to consent, legal review and finally demolition, with Sonnenberg Excavating now set to do the work.