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reasonably preclude unlawful entry and trespassing on the <br />property. So, they assumed they had all the responsibility <br />within that chain link fence. When they saw the 12 x 14 -ft. <br />building for the first time, the windows were broken out, the <br />doors were missing, the walls were sprayed with graffiti and <br />there was broken glass all over the floor along with old drug <br />needles. Mr. Levy understood that there had been complaints for <br />many, many years, even before the County purchased the franchised <br />utility from an attorney in Atlanta. Since Mr. Pinto told them <br />the County was going into the water business, it was their <br />thinking that the County had the power to condemn this property. <br />Mr. Pinto told them that they paid the attorney from Atlanta <br />$100,000 for this franchise and that they were going to purchase <br />another 15 franchises throughout the county. So the County paid <br />$100,000, sold a bond issue, and sold this lot to them for <br />$4,000. The 25 -ft. water tank on the lot was completely rusted, <br />and the neighbors said they have been complaining about it for 15 <br />years, but yet the County had never cited the former owner. <br />There were weeds and it was completely wild. Children were in <br />there getting into trouble and there were a lot of police reports <br />over the years. Back then the County had liability because <br />children were playing inside the building and all you could see <br />were the roof trusses. There was no roof. In that one-year <br />period of time, he and his partners had a difficult time finding <br />anyone to cut down the water tank with an acetylene torch. The <br />property was valued at $8,000 for both lots, and they spent an <br />extra $7000 to remove the tank, so they were into the property <br />for $11,000 at that point. The point he was making is that the <br />former owner had a dangerous situation for about 20 years, but as <br />soon as he and his partners took over the property, the County <br />suddenly noticed the water tank and debris. Charles Heath of <br />Code Enforcement had told them at the time that it was because <br />the County had only two code enforcement people for the entire <br />i <br />19 BOOK A <br />iA�c �s <br />as <br />MAR 2 01990 <br />