City of Lanett removes several dilapidated houses
Published 5:57 pm Tuesday, September 18, 2018
- ABANDONED HOUSES COMING DOWN: The City of Lanett is stepping up action on bringing down abandoned houses and cleaning up the lots. Three such houses were recently brought down near the St. Paul’s AME Church on North 6th Avenue (above). The three houses had been deserted for some time, and they had overgrown yards. On Monday, the council declared eight more abandoned houses nuisance properties, authorizing action for their removal. Somewhere between 100 and 150 such houses have been taken down in Lanett in recent years.
LANETT – On Monday, the Lanett City Council authorized action to removed eight dilapidated houses in the city. Code Enforcement Officer Lt. Lewis Hill reported to the council that each one of the abandoned structures was either partially burned or in an advanced state of decline.
“I have made every effort to get them repaired or removed,” he said. “I have not had any success due to the owners being deceased or uncooperative.”
The properties are located at 111 North 1st Avenue, 906 South 6th Avenue, 909 South 6th Avenue, 1116 East 1st Avenue, 2021 21st Street SW, 2019 23rd Street SW, 635 21st Street SW and 1232 21st Street SW.
Mayor Kyle McCoy said that getting streets resurfaced and tearing down dilapidated houses and cleaning up lots were priorities in his administration. He asked Jason Abernathy of code enforcement how many houses had been torn down and lots cleaned up in recent years. Abernathy said he didn’t know the exact number off hand but estimated it to be somewhere between 100 and 150.
The council declared these eight properties public nuisances and authorized their removal.
Council Member Angelia Thomas called
for a more active Recreation Department in the city.
“Our Rec is a wreck,” she said. “Families from Lanett are paying Valley to participate in programs at the Sportsplex. I know we are doing some good things. Planning for the future is okay, but we need something for the present. We need to get something going in our Recreation Department. We need something for kids and adults to do.”
