Some Greenwood City Council members expressed concern Tuesday after a representative from an investment company asked for more time to deal with several dilapidated houses.
Jessica Whittington, customer and client service representative for Viking Investments, appeared at the council’s regular meeting. Viking Investments is based in Jackson and is not affiliated with Greenwood-based manufacturer Viking Range.
The council voted unanimously Tuesday to send out the latest round of notices on dilapidated housing.
The Viking properties, purchased at a tax sale in 2012, are in demand, and 10 have been sold since September, Whittington said. Some buyers want to fix the houses up for themselves, and some want to provide affordable housing for others, but “it is hard for us to do when they are being demolished,” she said.
Ward 1’s Johnny Jennings, serving as president of the council in the absence of Ronnie Stevenson, said if the properties can be saved it would benefit the city. It’s expensive to demolish dilapidated homes, and “we’d love to get them on the tax rolls,” he said.
Mayor Carolyn McAdams asked Whittington if the properties come with any warranty. Whittington replied that if a property is on the demolition list, the prospective buyer is made aware of that.
The mayor expressed an interest in making sure the properties that Viking has are regularly maintained. “We want them back on the tax roll in a good way,” she said.
Whittington said, “If we don’t get these sold, they will be sold at the next sale in August. Cutting the grass, maintaining is not a huge deal for us.”
Victor Stokes, director of the city’s Department of Community Development, said that in the past Viking has claimed it didn’t own certain properties that were dilapidated. Whittington said she was new to her job and promised to do a better job than was done in the past. “We want to sell them,” she said.
Both Ward 4’s Charles McCoy and Ward 5’s Andrew Powell said there are several Viking dilapidated properties in their wards that have caved-in roofs and are not secure.
McCoy speculated that his ward has 15 such properties.
“People are buying more problems than they know that they are buying,” and the purchase price doesn’t include bringing the property up to code, he said.
Stokes said many buyers can’t afford to bring houses up to code.
Ward 7’s Carl Palmer said
the company has a poor track record with the city and asked, “What’s going to change?”
Whittington said Viking Investments would do better.
Palmer suggested that deficiencies in properties be listed in the contracts so that buyers will know the cost ahead of time.
Camelia Ray, who had purchased a house along with her boyfriend, said Viking Investments refused to give a refund after the couple found the home uninhabitable. She came to the meeting at McAdams’ invitation.
City Attorney Don Brock said buyers need to be careful.
“People need to know the law in Mississippi is ‘caveat emptor’ —let the buyer beware. Unless the seller knows something and does not disclose it or hides it, they are not liable,” he said.
Brock suggested that property purchases at tax sales should be done with the help of an attorney.
Palmer said, “Viking needs to prove themselves. If they want an extension on some of their properties, let them prove to us that they are worthy of that.”
In other action, the council approved:
nThe appointment of Hank Reichle to the Greenwood Utilities Board of Commissioners. Reichle will replace outgoing Commissioner James Quinn. Reichle is vice president of marketing at Staplcotn.
Quinn served as chairman of the Board of Commissioners for 13½ years and 22 years on the board overall. He was also a member of the Municipal Energy Association of Mississippi for 17 years, 14½ as its chairman.
“I have devoted a substantial portion of my life to service of the community of Greenwood and especially Greenwood Utilities,” Quinn said in prepared remarks. “I will stand upon my record of service as well as leadership of Greenwood Utilities and MEAM and their outstanding performance, management team and employees. My record of transparency, honesty and integrity speaks for itself.”
Reichle thanked the mayor and the council for approving him.
“I’m happy to help my fellow citizens and help serve the city,” he said. “My business background I believe will be something that will be a good asset to the board of Greenwood Utilities."
• Contact Bob Darden at 581-7239 or bdarden @gwcommonwealth.com.
