Property owners at 3966 E. 300N, Warsaw, are being sued by the Kosciusko County Health Department for failing to comply with orders. InkFreeNews photo by Liz Shepherd.

By Liz Shepherd
InkFreeNews

WARSAW — The Kosciusko County Health Department has filed a complaint against two property owners regarding unsanitary conditions.

The property, located at 3966 E. 300N, Warsaw, is owned by Sharon E. Zellers and Martha E. Mayer, both of Warsaw. According to court documents, the health department filed a complaint against Zellers and Mayer on May 26 in Kosciusko Superior Court Four for failure to comply with health department orders.

In the suit, the county health department is being represented by Adam D. Turner. Zellers, Mayer, and unknown occupants of the home are all listed as defendants. No legal representation for the defendants is listed in court documents.

On April 28, 2021, KCHD issued two orders against the property’s owners and residents.

The first order requested the removal of garbage and an illegal burn/dump pit from the property.

Zellers and Mayer were ordered to remove the garbage and burn pit on or before May 31, 2021. Per Kosciusko County Ordinance No. 8-11-10-001, there is a fine of up to $100 for the first violation and a fine of up to $200 for each subsequent violation.

The second order requested property owners cease and desist unsanitary disposal of sewage on the property.

“(There is) open sewage found on the ground’s surface less than 20 feet from the wellhead,” read the April 2021 cease and desist order. “(There is) a washing machine discharged onto the ground surface at the east end of a garage used as a living area. (There is) a shower discharge from the same garage used as a living area.”

Additionally, in the order, property owners were asked to cease all above-ground sewage discharges, acquire the services of a septic tank pumper to regularly pump the septic tank and replace the failing onsite sewage disposal system.

The property’s owners were ordered to complete these tasks on or before May 31, 2021. Per Kosciusko County Ordinance No. 16-1-3-13, there is a fine of up to $100 for the first violation and a fine of up to $1,000 for each subsequent violation.

In an order to abate from KCHD, the home was declared unfit for human habitation due to “want of repair, defects in plumbing, electrical system with exposed wiring, failed onsite sewage disposal system, trash, rubbish, filth, illegally installed and maintained wood-burning device in and about a garage converted for use as a second dwelling, which not only renders the said dwelling uninhabitable but which also poses a significant health risk to neighboring homes.”

Through that same order, the home was declared a public nuisance.

In the case, KCHD is requesting an order from the court requiring compliance with county ordinances. They are also requesting entry of a fine against the defendants, as well as coverage for “reasonable attorney fees, court costs, and all other relief just and proper.”