A routine review of dilapidated housing at Wednesday’s City Council meeting turned into a fevered discussion of the city’s responsibility, each council member’s responsibility and the personal responsibility of citizens to keep property clean and safe.
Code Enforcement Officer Betty Stigler read out the addresses of 36 properties that have been identified as a menace to public health and safety. Their owners have been notified that they need to comply with city code or be issued a citation.
Ward 6 Councilman David Jordan took issue with what he described as “stuff not attended to by the city” in South Greenwood.
Ward 2’s Lisa Cookston pointed out that the city cannot go on private property to cut grass or clean up a property without going through proper legal channels.
Jordan argued that his ward in particular is one of the city’s oldest, with many post-World War II properties that are run-down and still inhabited, and that people need the city’s help.
Several councilmen chimed in, including Ward 5’s Andrew Powell, Ward 1’s Johnny Jennings and Council President and Ward 3 Councilman Ronnie Stevenson, saying that it’s the responsibility of individual council members to address the needs of their community on a daily basis.
“It takes citizens and leaders to make it better,” Powell said. “This list didn’t come about because somebody sitting at their desk made it up.
“It takes citizens to do something. It makes me angry when somebody says the city looks bad, that the city’s not doing what it’s supposed to do.”
Stigler concurred, saying that city employees do their best but are limited in their ability to keep up with trash pickup if citizens don’t also work to keep their property clean.
“When you see a clean city, it’s because the people who live there do it themselves,” she said.
Stevenson said he doesn’t wait until it’s campaign time to “go out and see what’s happening in my ward.”
Mayor Carolyn McAdams said she and everyone else at the city care about the condition of city properties. She said she took issue not with what Jordan was saying but with how he was saying it, implying that city employees were not doing their jobs.
The discussion ended with council approving moving forward on the process of getting owners of the 36 properties to come into compliance.
Stigler said that once a homeowner has been notified by the city that his or her property is violating city code, the homeowner has 30 days to come into compliance. Those who don’t comply are issued citations, and then court procedures move forward.
Many of the houses in question, she said, are owned by non-residents and the process is complicated when the city is required to operate according to state statutes that might tie up a property for a long time in the legal process.
In other city business:
•The council accepted a bid for purchase of shelving, weapons racks, evidence lockers and storage lockers for the police station.
•The council accepted a bid from Cain, Inc. of Kosciusko for demolition, securing and/or cut and clean of 31 dilapidated houses in the city.
•Police Chief Ray Moore introduced his newest officer trainee, Austin Cook, who started with the department in February and will attend the police academy in August. Moore said that five new police recruits will attend the academy at that time.
•The council approved an ordinance adopting and enacting new ly drafted and re-drafted codes for the city, including removing some outdated ordinances and amending some city codes. This has been an ongoing project of administrator Thomas Gregory and now officially comprises the city’s new code book.
•The council approved a donation of $2,500 to the Greenwood Air Show, which will be held June 3 at Greenwood-Leflore Airport. Plans for the event were presented by Cyndi Long and Allan Hammons. A resolution and a check will be presented at the next council meeting on May 16.
•The council was informed that the city has been approved for a $500,000 grant from Mississippi Home Corporation for home rehabilitation. The city will be advertising and releasing details of requirements for residents to apply for grants.
The maximum amount of money allowed to rehabilitate a home and bring it up to code is $35,000. Homes must be owned outright and have no mortgage or other liens outstanding, and manufactured homes must sit on land owned by the homeowner.
Stigler will administer the grant application process.
•Contact Kathryn Eastburn at 581-7235 or keastburn@gwcommonwealth.com
