Council member Daron Bolen commented on the efforts to tear down and clean up abandoned and unsightly properties in the city.

He said there are three properties in District 3 that he would like to add to the list to be torn down, the old Church’s Chicken building on College Avenue and Becky’s on Forest Avenue as well as a burned out residence in Edgewood Subdivision.

Bolen said the house in Edgewood burned in 2015 and there have been many complaints from neighbors. Mayor South told him to prepare the necessary paperwork to enforce ordinances already in place to clean up the properties. Chief Taylor said that he had sent warnings to the owner of Church’s but that so far no citation has been issued.

Mayor South instructed Bolen and Chief Taylor to “put some teeth” into the process of getting these properties cleaned up. He said he had difficulties dealing with the owner of Church’s in the past, stating that he couldn’t even get them to cut the grass.

By Linda Heath
The South Alabamian