Greenie Gonzales 
The residential structure at 710 S Pleasant Ave had become a real nuisance in the middle of Gonzales nearly a decade ago. The subject of lengthy litigation, the city would eventually settle a claim with the former homeowners a few years back, paying $374,000 for damage sustained because of a failing drainage servitude which the court determined eroded the subsurface, compromising the structural integrity of the home.
“My Chief of Staff has negotiated with the foreclosing bank for the better part of a year, trying to find some solution that might salvage the property for future use,” Mayor Tim Riley explained. “We gave the bank plenty of opportunity to come up with a plan before having the property condemned last month.”
Even after the condemnation, the city afforded Citimortgage an opportunity to come up with a solution. None was forthcoming.
“We started to notice, more and more, that squatters were using the house. It was decided that this posed an unacceptable risk for those individuals and unreasonable risk of potential liability for the city,” explained Chief of Staff Wade Petite. “Mayor Riley’s patience ran out and he directed us to begin the condemnation proceedings in February.”
Once the City Council condemned the structure in March, bids for the demolition were solicited.
“Our Chief Building Official was most concerned with the backyard pool which made the potential danger even more hazardous,” the mayor said. “Safety measures offered by the owner were not enough to make us comfortable that the potential danger had been addressed.
“I want to commend Dempsey Pendarvis and his crew for the great job they did…
and for doing it so quickly,” Riley added. “Mr. Pendarvis’ bid was also significantly lower than competing bids.”
The servitude drains more than 30 acres toward Bayou Francois, heightening the urgency to find a fix.
