POULSBO– Demolition on a second city-owned house in Poulsbo began early on Feb. 1.

The house at 19159 8th Ave., is the second along Dogfish Creek’s southern fork to be removed by the city in less than a week. Locals need not worry about a lingering eyesore though; Public Works Superintendent Mike Lund said the project would be over quickly.

“We’ll have it completely torn down and most of the back fill done by tomorrow afternoon,” Lund said Thursday morning. “By Monday or Tuesday the site will be buttoned up and done.”

The demolition of both houses, Lund said, will clear space for further development of Centennial Park.

“It’s part of the creek restoration and Centennial Park and all of that,” Lund said. “Absolutely good for the city.”

Lund said that because both of the city-owned houses were vacant, they had become popular with squatters.

“It was a beacon for behavior we don’t want to have. We had people breaking into the houses and doing things you don’t want in there,” he said. “We had the police come in this morning to make sure that nobody was in there.”

The house along 8th avenue was purchased by the city for $1 in 2015 with the intent of destroying the house and restoring the nearby Dogfish Creek, which is often traveled by juvenile and spawning salmon.

–Nick Twietmeyer is a reporter with Kitsap News Group, Nick can be reached at ntwietmeyer@soundpublishing.com.