photo by: Karen Dillon

Douglas County filed a lawsuit against Linda Fritz, the owner of the 1890 schoolhouse on County Route 1055, pictured here on Friday, May 6, 2016. The county's petition calls it a junk yard and a nuisance.

The owner of an 1890 schoolhouse who code inspectors say is operating an illegal junkyard has 30 days to clean up the property, according to a default judgment issued Friday.

Douglas County District Court Judge Kay Huff also ordered the owner, Linda Fritz, and the tenants, who are Fritz’s daughter and son-in-law, to “immediately cease and refrain from collecting, placing, and storing any additional junk or salvage materials” on the property.

Huff issued the default judgment and permanent injunction order after Fritz and her family failed to respond to a petition filed on April 29 by the Douglas County Commission that asked the court to order Fritz to stop the illegal operation and to clean up the eyesore.

The county has received dozens of complaints by neighbors and passersby. And codes inspectors have detailed the problem since late last summer.

Fritz does not live at the house at 1055 East 1500 Road but rents the property to her daughter Ann Speicher and son-in-law David Sharon.

By law, the owner of the property is ultimately solely responsible.

Fritz has told county officials and the Journal-World that she has been unable to make the tenants stop trashing the property after having asked numerous times.

On Monday Fritz told the Journal-World she was unaware of the judgment but she said she talked to her daughter that morning on the telephone, imploring her to clean it up.

“I gave her a deadline to clean it up,” she said. “I will get hold of them and tell them what is going on.”

Sean Reid, director of zoning and codes, has been monitoring the property on a weekly basis and responding to neighbors’ questions, said Sarah Plinsky, assistant county administrator.

“We are not seeing a lot of progress,” Plinsky said. “(Fritz) is frustrated, but obviously the property is still significantly out of compliance.”

If Fritz and her family fail to comply with the court order within 30 days, Huff wrote that the county can request the court to find the defendants in contempt of court. If such an order is granted, the county will be authorized to move ahead with the cleanup, “abate the violations” and recover reasonable costs, Huff wrote.

The judgment also authorized the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office to enforce the terms of the order.