State-Journal.com - Neighbors tire of the smell

Photo By State Journal/Kelly Mackey A log cabin and carriage house stand behind the main house at 311 W. 3rd St. The property has been condemned and neighbors have petitioned to have it torn down.

Photo By State Journal/Kelly Mackey A makeshift bed and chair abandoned inside the log cabin suggest that someone has been living there. Torn-out magazine pages of models and perfume ads decorate the wall near the bed.

The city of Frankfort is investigating the cost of demolishing three condemned structures on a lot on West Third Street.

The vacant house at 311 West Third has a carriage house behind it, along with a small log cabin, age unknown, city officials say.

The owner, Annette Shuntich, of Cocoa Beach, Fla., will be held responsible for the costs of demolition, said Gary Muller, director of Frankfort's Department of Planning and Building Codes.

The building's condemnation was renewed in January of this year.

The lowest current demolition bid is $21,800, Muller said. The 2008 Property Valuation Administrator's assessment is $115,000.

If the demolition fee is not paid within 30 days, Muller said, the city would place a lien on the property.
Shuntich, originally from London, England, said she suspected the property has historical merit and she's trying to save the buildings. Shuntich said she believed the cabin was a servant, slave or "horse boy" house.

Shuntich, a real estate agent, said she's had personal setbacks in restoration. She said she worked on the property in the past.

"It's just hard when you are not there," Shuntich told The State Journal in a telephone interview today.
"When I was there, we'd have Christmas parties, all the poor as well as the wealthy, and we'd have cider and Bible studies." Shuntich said she's open to any potential buyers.

Muller said he is unsure of the cabin's age, but said all three structures on the property are "very old."
Littered on the porch of the main house are water-damaged college textbooks, a tattered copy of a Sue Grafton mystery N is for Nose and debris.

Inside the house, broken pieces of drywall obstruct entry for all but the most enterprising building inspectors.

Doors and windows to the carriage house are open, revealing sagging floorboards and children's toys strewn about. "This is our family" is written on a wall above photos.

The smell of urine emanates from the structure, which neighbors say vagrants inhabited on and off.
Muller confirmed transients had used one room in the carriage house as a toilet. Muller also said someone lived in the cabin through the winter with no water or electricity.

Though the log cabin isn't much more than a few dozen square feet, a makeshift bed rests near a stone fireplace beneath advertisements for perfume and photos of fashion models cut from magazines and pasted to the wall.

Neighbors say the dilapidated buildings are odiferous, particularly when it's hot outside.

Muller said the building's state of disrepair has been prohibitive for potential restorers. "It was a beautiful home," Mueller said.

While not much is known about the historical significance of the cabin or the carriage house, Muller said the main structure's architectural merit is dubious.

"From my recollection, there wasn't architectural significance to the main structure," Muller said.
Muller said the Planning and Zoning Commission has gone so far as to bring prospective buyers to the owner, but the parties could not agree on a price.

"We truly went out of our way," Muller said.

"I need to be up there, really, to manage the construction," Shuntich said.

Shuntich said she loves her Frankfort neighbors, "but I know it's been a huge eyesore for them."

While city commissioners requested information about the possibility of demolishing the main residence and the carriage house and leaving the log cabin, Muller said they'd likely recommend all three structures be torn down.

"You can't save them all, unfortunately," Muller said.