If you’ve been wondering about something in your community, Ask The Times is your place to get answers. The following questions were submitted by readers and answered through the efforts of our news staff.

On April 28, fire destroyed the Long John Silver’s restaurant on Thompson Bridge Road in Gainesville. As of June 4, nothing had been done to the ruins of the building. It appears to be a safety and health hazard. How long does the company have to demolish that structure?

Gary W. Kansky, Code Enforcement Manager for the city of Gainesville, has been working on the case of the burned out restaurant. He said he contacted the property manager Monday this week in California, with a decision pending the insurance company making its final assessment of the property.

Wednesday, he said he received an email from the property manager who expected a settlement payment to be finalized within two weeks. Kansky says the city code does have a section that deals with such structures, and if necessary, the city will take the property owner to court if it is not dealt with in a timely manner.

“We try to work with people in this type of situation to get the problem solved before taking any legal actions against them,” he said.

Kansky concedes the burned-out building “looks bad” and vows to follow through on the case to get it removed.

“It’s highly visible, in a corridor into town, and is a safety hazard,” he said.

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