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Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009

Tip List: And the blight winner is ...

After much deliberation, Tip List, with the aid of the Sun-Star newsroom, has picked a winner in its blight contest.

The "King of Blight" has been crowned.

Thumbing through the eight columns which I wrote about blight -- all equally talented -- I was reminded of the variety of blight in Merced County. There are abandoned houses, junk-filled yards, boarded-up businesses and graffiti-encrusted public toilets. And those are just a few of the properties I highlighted.

In the end, the gold ribbon had to go to a property that brought blight to new depths of decay. It's not that the other contestants didn't have the right stuff; the winner just had more of it.

And the king of blight is ... Gill Kirpal Singh, the proud owner of, not one, but two of the properties featured in the Tip List's blight contest. Not only does Singh own two blighted properties in Atwater, but they are some of the longest standing problem spots in the county. To boot, he owes the county more than $35,000 for almost three years in back taxes.

One of Singh's properties in Atwater, a closed gas station just off Highway 99 called Applegate Mini-Mart, appeared in the July 2 issue of the Sun-Star.

It was described thus: "A chain-link fence fronts an abandoned property at Sycamore Avenue in Atwater like a smoke-stained curtain badly hiding a messy room.

"Behind the fence a decaying service station named Applegate Mini- Mart sits like a building waiting to burn. Fifty-gallon drums stand in clumps at the building's edge. A pile of cement and asphalt rises in a far corner of the site like some kind of minor eruption.

"The building's roof is chewed up and coming apart. A big blue '24 Hours' sign still beckons drivers from the mini-mart's wall as they pass. On the front glass door it reads 'always open.' Inside, the building is falling apart."

Singh couldn't be reached for comment or to receive his prize; a mug with a photo of his property on the side.

Atwater Police Chief Richard Hawthorne, who oversees code violations in the city, said he's well aware of Singh's properties. Unfortunately, he said, neither Singh nor the city have the money to clean up the two gas stations Singh owns. But Hawthorne said the state may put a lien on both properties until they are cleaned up.

Congratulations, Mr. Singh.

And now for the good news. Four properties listed in the contest were cleaned up.

The first, an abandoned house in Planada, is moving closer to demolition. The second, a public restroom near Lake Yosemite, has been painted over with anti-graffiti paint. So here's a shout-out to the county. The third property that has made progress with its clean up is a house on Lobo Avenue in the Beachwood area.

And as a final note, the inclusion of Frank Quintero, Merced's economic development director in the contest, has been rescinded since the blighted property owned by the city under his care was torn down.

Congratulations, Frank.

Tip off the Tip List.

If you see something broken or in need of repair in your neighborhood, call the Sun-Star Tip List reporter, Jonah Owen Lamb, with your tips at (209) 385-2484 or e-mail jlamb@mercedsun-star.com.