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The Council declared four properties “unsafe,” and after much debate decided to knock two of them down for the safety of residents living next to or near the dilapidated structures.
The City Council agreed at its meeting Wednesday night to pay TMI Industries $73,400 for the demolition, which occurred a month ago. The buildings were at 456 S. 1st Ave. and 359 S. 10th Ave.
Councilman Richard Thomas, who pushed to have the structures taken down, said the cost was less than the city thought it would be and was affordable for Mount Vernon.
“This will result in significant savings for the community and work as a vital first step to restoring property to a neighborhood of blighted buildings,” Thomas said. “When homeowners in these neighborhoods refinance there will be a better chance to get the money to renovate their houses."
Now that the structures are gone, Councilwoman Deborah Reynolds said she is concerned the vacant properties will become dumping lots for garbage.
“I’ve seen trash dumped into these lots that just sits there,” Reynolds said. “When we do take down structures we don’t want them sitting idle with people’s trash thrown on them. We need to start to continue to fix them up instead of leaving them like that.”
There is currently no timetable to demolish the two other properties declared "unsafe." These properties are at 302 S. 6th Ave. and 153 S. 11th St.
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