STANFORD — A dilapidated house located behind City Hall has finally come down thanks to a year-long code enforcement effort.

Stanford Code Enforcement Officer Jeff Knouse said the process of demolishing the house at 105 1st Street, previously owned by the late Jim and Anna Reid, began in August of last year.

The Stanford City Council adopted a state ordinance, House Bill 422, in 2017 and Knouse said last week’s demolition is an example of the positive results the ordinance is having across the city.

The process began with a notice of violation for the dilapidated house, followed by a citation, and then a Code Enforcement Board hearing. None of the heirs of the property attended the hearing, Knouse said, which allowed the city to move forward with the removal.

Knouse said the house had fallen in and became what is called an “imminent danger,” or safety hazard.

“Nobody (heirs) responded in any way during the process,” he said. “It listed a bunch of heirs and we forwarded that paperwork to them and advised them of the Code Enforcement Board hearing.”

Thanks to help from the Lincoln County Fiscal Court, Knouse said county crews provided the labor and equipment needed for the removal of the house, leaving only the landfill bill for the city to pay.

“There’s going to be more to come,” Knouse said. “It took us a while to get to this point. Once I do all of my paperwork on it, then it’s turned over to the attorney and he has to do the title searches and all that stuff.”

Knouse said there are several other dilapidated houses in the city that Code Enforcement is eyeing for future removal.

“This is just one example of how House Bill 422 is helping the city,” Knouse said.