LV plans to hire guards to secure Sky-Vue

Sito Negron

Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2004 | 11:03 a.m.

Las Vegas officials said Monday they plan to hire security guards and put up a fence to secure the Sky-Vue mobile home park after three fires in three weeks exposed it as an ongoing public-safety hazard.

They also hope to speed up demolition of the fire-prone slum, action that could take place as soon as Sept. 2.

The fires cast a sense of urgency to resolve the situation, but a lawsuit filed by a lien holder on the property could prevent the city from getting back the money it is spending on the mobile home park at 15 W. Owens Ave., just north of downtown.

Investors Glenn Raynes and John Boyer, who hold a second mortgage on the mobile home park, filed a foreclosure notice in April, which means the property would be auctioned in September.

The city filed a lien on the property to recover $85,000 it spent to relocate residents when the park was closed June 30.

But a lawyer for Raynes and Boyer has filed a lawsuit, claiming the city does not have the right to jump ahead of them to recover its money.

City Attorney Brad Jerbic said the foreclosure, filed May 13, does not affect the city's claim.

"Our lien takes priority, and it goes against the land, not the owners of the land, so it (the foreclosure) really won't affect our lien at all," Jerbic said. "When cities lien properties, it's like tax collectors; our lien takes super priority over everybody else's interest."

The lawyer for the investors, William Noall, said that's an issue for court.

"They (the city) will either be wiped out or be (the senior lien) depending on what the courts decide," he said. "I sued the city because I think the city lien should be subordinate. That means I don't have to pay for what the borrower did."

DiMarco declined to comment on any issues related to Sky-Vue. Tracy Del Fante, who has a first mortgage on the property, did not return a call for comment, and Elizabeth Del Fante, who has been listed as lien holder of the property, also declined to comment.

The situation may resolve itself, at least as far as the physical fate of the park is concerned.

The park contains about 100 trailers, each one of which has been vandalized. Many are shells, or worse. In some cases, the outer skin has been completely removed -- at one trailer, for example, a person could look through the wooden frame and see inside to the bottles of wine lined up on the bar.

A wok lay in the middle of the street. A little farther from that, among the debris -- mattresses, shards of glass, Christmas ornaments -- was an ice cream scooper.

Neighborhood Services Director Orlando Sanchez said a 10-day notice to begin clearing the property was mailed Aug. 16. The DiMarcos have 10 days from the time they sign for receipt of the certified letter, he said. He said he has not yet received the return receipt that shows whether they received the letter, and when.

Also, the DiMarcos can appeal the abatement order to the City Council, Sanchez said.

However, he said, the city is securing bids from demolition companies so the city can be prepared to move immediately once the 10-day notice period and the appeal process is finished.

Sanchez said the extra cost for fencing and security would be charged to the DiMarcos.

The fencing is needed because the fire department had to tear down about 100 feet of wire to get onto the property, as well as bust through the front gate, Sanchez said.

"We have to get that (fencing) back up and secure the front gate again," he said.

Sanchez said the city would hire at least two armed private security guards to patrol the area.

He said he doesn't have any second thoughts about the recommendation to close the park.

"If anything, I think we (the city) did the right thing. We always had the fear it would go up in fire and, if it was occupied (during the most recent fires), we would have had fatalities on our hands," Sanchez said.

Councilman Lawrence Weekly, whose Ward 5 contains the Sky-Vue, said that getting rid of the trailers at Sky-Vue "is really the owners' place."

He said he didn't know what more the city could do to clear out the debris.

"That's something we'll have to discuss internally and address it, but at this point I don't have an answer for you," Weekly said. "It's just another issue in Ward 5. I'm of the belief I have the toughest ward in the entire city, and it's just another issue."