City makes aggressive push for money

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - While the Safe City Strike Force has been very successful in demolishing problem properties, they have not been as successful getting the property owners to pay for it.

The city of Albuquerque has ripped down problem properties, from a drug house in the Duranes neighborhood to run down, crime ridden motels along Central.

Small houses can cost a couple thousand dollars. Demolishing motels can cost upwards of $250,000.

The city fronts the cost but the owner must pay them back.

That usually happens when the property is sold but with 10 of them are still up for sale and the city is still waiting for its $457,000.

“The city of Albuquerque does a very good job of demolishing unsafe buildings we just have to follow up and pursue the money,” David Tourek said.

City Attorney David Tourek says a couple months ago his office discovered that the $219,000 the city spent to tear down the old Travel Lodge at Central and San Mateo three years ago had never been repaid.

That's when his office decided it was time to get aggressive.

”If they won't enter into agreement we will proceed to court and then foreclose and we will get our money,” Tourek said.

The owner of the Travel Lodge property now has a plan to pay the city back over five years.

The second largest outstanding bill is for the old Interstate Inn. The owner owes the city $137,000, the city says he is their next target.

And the clock is ticking. The city's liens on the property only last so long.

”Some of these are sizable and we don't want those to expire,” Tourek said. “Before there was no attorney in this office…Legal was not involved, legal is now involved.”

The city has demolished 26 properties since 2009.

It’s collected the demolition costs on 16 of those.