City of International Falls council agenda handout.

The city of International Falls is prepared to demolish four homes if they are not fixed up soon.

The homes have been cited for various property standards infractions.

One was the location of a garage fire.

City of International Falls council handout.

Falls City Council approved Monday night orders that set in motion the potential of those homes being torn down.

City Solicitor Steve Shermoen says there have been repeated attempts to get homeowners to make repairs.

“We’ve written the homeowners, sometimes multiple times, detailing the repairs that need to be made, and they’ve not been made. The Fire Marshall has requested that I bring these issues to the Council so that the buildings can be demolished,” says Shermoen.

The homeowners still have time to comply with the orders before court action is taken to approve demolition.

“They’ve not done it, then we can file a court proceeding in each individual case. They have the ability to come to court and contest whether or not the property should be demolished. I think in my 12 years as city attorney, I’ve only had one homeowner come in and tried to object to the demolition.”

Shermoen says in that case, the court gave the homeowner extra time to make repairs, only to have the house come down later.