In an effort to offer some guidance, the Board of AldermenTuesday set a tentative schedule for owners of buildings destroyedin the May 24 downtown fire to have their properties cleanedup.

“We’ve agreed the owners needed time to come up with a plan,”said Mayor Bob Massengill.

After the devastation of the fire, the mayor said, the fact thebusiness owners would have to look to find the means for cleanupand re-establishment was understood by the board.

On Tuesday, Massengill submitted a tentative plan to the boardto help point the project in the right direction. He asked them toconsider the time frames he had drawn out and decide if they werereasonable for cleanup and reconstruction.

The timeline sets September 1 as the date for property owners tosubmit plans regarding the cleanup of the debris left from theburned buildings and their subsequent collapse. December 1 would bethe deadline to have the cleanup completed, with violations of thatdate resulting in proper legal procedures according to the cityordinances.

“I feel this gives them direction and time to work on this,”said Massengill. “It’s just a good time frame to get the ballrolling.”

Ward Four Alderwoman Shirley Estes, who owned a business thatburned several years ago, agreed.

“It’s extremely traumatic when something like this happens, andit takes a while to decide what to do,” she said. “I think thesedates are fair.”

Massengill said a letter detailing the board’s decision would besent to property owners.

In a similar issue, City Attorney Joe Fernald briefed the boardon the meeting held last week at the Chamber of Commerce on taxcredits for historic renovations to buildings.

He recapped what was said by Brenda Crook of the MississippiDepartment of Archives and History about additional percentages forbuildings returned to their historic appearances in the GulfOpportunity Zone, or “GO Zone,” post-Katrina.

The board agreed to ask Crook to return to Brookhaven and giveher presentation to them at a date to be announced. She said lastweek that the city has over 70 businesses in the historic downtowndistrict that could qualify for the tax credits, as well as severalresidences.