Brookhaven Board of Aldermen approves building removals

Published 9:26 pm Wednesday, August 16, 2017

Structures are coming down.

The Brookhaven Board of Aldermen Tuesday night at a public hearing approved a list of 27 structures to be demolished and cleaned up by the city. They also approved six properties to be mowed.

Building Inspector David Fearn went through the list of properties and addressed each individual property and described why it needs to come down.

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“Most of the property owners are fine with taking down the property,” Fearn said. “If you drive by these places, there are holes in the sides of the houses or trees falling on the roof; these properties need to come down.”

A couple of property owners requested more time to clean up, which the board approved. They were granted a six-month period to get the property renovated or they will be put back on the list.

Fearn said they’ve had several owners request that the city remove buildings.

Stacy Washington, who owns a house on Cedar Street that is on the list, is ready for the property to be taken down. The roof is caving in on the house.

“I’m currently in school in Jackson and I can’t afford to fix the repairs that need to be made, but anytime that I have fixed things it always gets vandalized,” Washington said. “The whole inside of the house has been vandalized with beer bottles and cigars. I want the house down.”

There is a cost that comes with that.

“It depends on the amount of tonnage of material we take to the dump. It’s $25 per ton taken. There are a couple of other factors involved depending on the equipment we use to take stuff down. The price can range from $1,000 to $3,000,” Fearn said.

He said the city will be responsible for notifying gas companies to make sure that the gas is off at each of the structures being taken down.

The city will also have to notify electricians and the water department to make sure everything is off before they can start working on taking a property down.

“By the time all utilities are off, we are looking at a starting somewhere around November or December,” Fearn said. “The city will take down the structure and take the materials to the city dump.”

There are six properties the board approved to be mowed. The city will mow the property, and the property owner will be charged $250 each time the city has to mow it.

Properties with structures to be removed by the city:

Ward 1:

• 106 Weems St.

• 408 North Fourth St.

• 446 North MLK St.

• 2606 Brignal Road

• 437 North Fifth St.

• 141 Cedar St.

• 143 Cedar St.

• 145 Cedar St.

• 306 Ash St.

Ward 2:

• 103 Avalon St.

• 630 Franklin St.

• 104 Marsh Aly St.

• 326 East Independence St.

Ward 3:

• 1044 East Monticello St.

• 1214 Washington Ave.

• 709 Swalm Ave.

• 109 Saint George St.

• 832 Bryant St.

• 221 South Fourth St.

• 439 East Minnesota St.

• 423 East Minnesota St.

• 334 East Minnesota St.

• 931 Bryant St.

• 609 South Martin Luther King Jr. Drive

Ward 5:

• Corner of Charlie Lane and Zetus Road

Ward 6:

• 2335 Brignal Road

• 2429 Brignal Road

Properties to be mowed by the city:

Ward 1:

• 613 Locust Trail

Ward 2:

• Woods across from 246 Marr St.

• 235 Avalon St.

• 724 Williams St.

• 635 North First St.

Ward 3:

• Lot next to 507 Vanzie St.