Owners of dilapidated housing and littered, unsightly or overgrown lots can expect a letter from the city asking them to clean up the property before officials do and send them a bill.
Mayor James Young told aldermen at their Oct. 20 meeting that they weren't "reinventing the wheel" but merely enforcing an ordinance and state law already on the books.
"There are a lot of good things that are getting ready to happen in our city and I want us to get ready for it," Young told aldermen.
Under the ordinance, owners would first be sent a "very kind" letter giving them 30 days to clean up the property, the mayor said.
"If they don't, then we will send them a second, stronger letter," he said.
If the owner does not respond, Young said the city would set a hearing to gain public comment on the matter.
If during the hearing the board determines that the property is a menace to the public health and safety of a community, the city can clean the property up if the owner fails to do so.
The state law allows the city to not only charge the property owner with the cleaning fee but also impose a $250 penalty or 25 percent of the actual cost, whichever is more.
"There will be a 90-day process before we talk about a hearing," Young said. "This is not a new law, it's the state law and we are just trying to abide by it."
Aldermen voiced support for the mayor and building official to determine which properties need to be addressed and report their findings to the full board.
"I just think you need to keep the board informed," Ward 2 Alderman Roy White said. "Give us a progress report once a month."
Young earlier cited areas of the city where neighbors complain about drugs being sold from dilapidated houses.
"These houses and buildings are deserted and sometimes are used as drug dens. Sometimes other things are going on at night in these houses that shouldn't be going on," he said.
At a town meeting in December 2007, residents voiced concerns about crime, particularly in the northwestern section of the city, as well as dilapidated housing and absentee landlords, sites which they said were breeding grounds for violence.
A formal request for stricter zoning laws and a curfew for minors was presented a few weeks later to the previous administration, but no action was ever taken.
In other action, aldermen on Oct. 20:
• Paid seven out of order claims: Four Seasons, $475 and $2,635; Neel-Schaffer Engineering, $8,500; Waggoner Engineering, $8119.15 and $21,300; East Central Planning and Development District, $2,198.55; and Construction Services, $54,265.90.
• Allowed Ward 4 Alderman Cecil Nichols to attend a public water board training program in Louisville Dec 9-10 and to pay travel expenses.
• Allowed the city clerk to attend a certification program Nov 19-20 in Jackson and to pay registration and travel.
• Approved a $4,278 change order on the parking lot project at the airport to correct a drainage problem.
• Appointed the mayor and building official Jay Eakes as the commissioners to handle Neshoba County's Hazardous Mitigation Plan that deals with such things as flood issues.
• Took bids under advisement for dirt for use at the landfill.
• Set the clothing allowance for police investigators at $300 each twice a year.
• Authorized the repair of a bush hog with Covington Sales at a cost of $8,786. This is a single source item from the exclusive dealer.
• Approved travel expenses for the mayor to go to Washington Nov. 3-6 for economic development meetings.
• Authorized two officers and one patrol unit to travel to Norfolk, Va. to pick up a prisoner and to pay expenses.
• Heard from Marthis Riddle who expressed a welfare concern for a family in her neighborhood.
She said a teen-age boy has gotten involved with drugs and was hanging around with the wrong crowd.
The mayor told Riddle he would make a few phone calls to see what could be done to help the family.
