College Park Plaza officially closed

The Tuesday deadline for all remaining College Park Plaza tenants to leave the now defunct apartment complex passed without incident, local officials said.

The Hill County Health Board voted Nov. 2 to close the College Park Plaza apartment complex after years of accruing various code violations and safety infractions. During a Jan. 17 meeting, members of the Health Board said five tenants had still not moved out and there was reason to believe some of them would not.

"There's some people pretty much embedded in that building, and I don't think they're leaving unless they are forced to," County Sanitarian Clay Vincent had said.

Deputy Hill County Attorney Karen Alley had told members of the Health Board that if those last tenants refuse to move out, the next step would have included filing eviction notices through Justice Court which, once approved, would have allowed Sheriff's Office deputies to remove remaining tenants.

It turns out no further action was needed.

Alley said Wednesday that she, together with a representative of the building management and Vincent, walked through the building after the deadline and found it empty.

"To the best of my knowledge, everyone has complied with the order," Alley said. "We had a positive outcome."

The lights were out, the entrance doors were locked - there looked to be no reason to believe there was anyone left in the building, she said.

Alley said police drive-bys would be requested to ensure nobody has holed up or is hiding inside the building.

She had been in contact with owner Jason Van Voast, who was notified that, should anyone refuse to comply, he would be charged with failure to comply with the eviction notice.

The building had been a source of malcontent for the city for many years.

The building's problems go beyond the presence of lead paint, mold and a laundry list of fire code violations including lack of adequate smoke detectors and fire extinguishers. Havre Police Chief Gabe Matosich had said that since Jan. 1, 2016, his department had received 275 calls involving the building. Officers have responded to partner or family member assaults, instances of trash set on fire, theft, disorderly conduct, harassment, criminal contempt and trespassing.

Property manager Sheila Forshee had said Jan. 17 that a sale was pending on the building and final details on the sale were being worked out. The interested buyer, or buyers, want to keep the details of their plans for the building confidential, she had said.