There are more than 100 houses throughout the city that need to be demolished, but city officials say limited funds are keeping that from happening.
Of the approximately 110 properties on the demolition list, the City of Greenville is currently looking to tear down 25 of those structures.
Some of the houses have been on the demolition list for up to three years.
The Greenville City Council has put demolition of the 25 properties up for bidding, and the lowest and best bidders will be chosen to demolish the structures.
City Inspector D’Andre Williams said although they would like to demolish all the properties, the city council is limited due to the lack of funds.
“It would be great to have the funding to demolish all 110 properties, but with limited funding, it will always be an issue,” said City Inspector D’Andre Williams.
The 25 houses that are on the demolition list includes: 457 Cleveland St,; 1026 W. O’Hea St.; 513 S. Percy St.; 428 E. Starling St.; 502-428 ½ E. Starling St.; 110 S. 7th St.; 321 S. 6th St.; 202 S. 6th St.; 206 S. 6th St.; 1219 Daniels St.; 1208 Ridge Ave.; 637 Walthall St.; 979 N. Dyer Circle; 727 Sampson Road; 624 Lacey St.; 729 S. Theobald St.; 1271 Oak Lane; 460 Railroad Ave.; 605 E. Gloster St.; 500 Orlando St.; 516 W. Starling St.; 2610 Airedale Drive; 2541 Airedale Drive; 919 Melvin St.; and 1136 E. Union St.
Once the city identifies a property as dilapidated, Williams said the next step is to follow the state statute, Section 21-19-11. Williams said the city will then schedule a public hearing before the properties committee declaring the property to be a menace to public health and safety to the community.
The properties committee then makes a recommendation to the entire city council that the property be added to the demolition/lot cleaning list and at that time, the city council moves to add the property on the list.
Once the city cleans a property, it will assess the fees of the demolition/lot cleaning to the property owners’ taxes, plus a 25% cost.
If the property owner fails to pay the demolition/lot cleaning cost, that property will go to the state of Mississippi — not the city — for tax forfeited lands.
There are nearly 1,400 tax-forfeited properties within the City of Greenville.
“The city council hired employees to cut the overgrown lots that were forfeited to the state of Mississippi,” Williams continued. “They also cut private-owned properties that aren’t maintained by absentee owners.”
