DAYTON – The City of Dayton has filed suit in Columbia County Superior Court, asking the court to declare the property at 119 E. Commercial Street in Dayton a public nuisance.

The property, which is owned by George "Bill" Waltermire, is the site of a house that partially burned on July 15, 2015. The standing portion of the burned structure has since been removed, but the lot is still covered with debris.

Besides the declaration of public nuisance, the city is also asking the court for a warrant of abatement, which would allow the city to hire a subcontractor to enter the property and clean up the debris. If the warrant is issued, a judgement will be placed against Waltermire's property for the costs of abatement, penalties, administrative fees, attorney's fees and court costs. The costs would be assessed as a lien against the property.

According to the Columbia County Clerk's office, the suit was filed and served against Waltermire on March 9. Waltermire had 20 days to respond, but he had not responded as of Monday, which was beyond the deadline.

City Code Compliance Officer Clint Atterberry told The Times on Monday that Waltermire received multiple warnings in 2016 that his property was in violation of city nuisance ordinances. In August, Waltermire entered into a voluntary compliance agreement with the city, in which he agreed to complete cleanup of the property by Sept. 16, but failed to do so.

No date has yet been set for the Superior Court Judge to rule on the lawsuit.