During Monday night’s regular session, three of the city’s five leaders decided not to accept the recommendation of city inspector Elvis Pernell to proceed with the demolition of the buildings at 101 and 103 Main St.
Alderman Gary Fratesi made the motion to proceed since it was the city inspector’s view that the Sunflower County Ministerial Alliance failed to comply with the terms of their agreement with the city.
The “second” to Fratesi’s motion came from Alderman Darrell Simpson, however, Aldermen Sam Brock, Marvin Elder and Ruben Woods voted no, so it failed 3 to 2.
In his update on the status of the structures, Pernell first reminded the lawmakers that the building had already been adjudicated for demolition and that bids had been received relative to that prior to them granting a stay to the ministerial alliance.
He restated the provisions of the 90-day deferment, which was that a report had to be submitted in 30 days outlining the group’s plans, and the property had to be made totally safe and secure before Gentry High’s homecoming parade on Oct. 19, a fence had to be erected around the rear of the property to ensure that no one could gain access to the basement of the buildings, boarding up the broken windows and removing the awnings.
Pernell said that by Oct. 15 there was no sign that any of the conditions had been met, so on October 16 he sent an email to the “foundation director” to advise them that if no progress was made by 4 p.m. Wednesday the city would secure the structure on Thursday morning.
Pernell said he received a call from the organization’s spokesperson, who advised that the fence had been installed but they would not be able to complete the other requested stipulations. He added that it was good that the city did go ahead with the work since one of the awnings fell before the city workers could fully get the equipment in place.
Fratesi asked Pernell his opinion on whether the alliance met the conditions of the postponement and Pernell responded, “The building wasn’t 100 percent secured. My answer to that would be no.”
Fratesi said that his motion to continue with the demolition was based on the fact that in times past, the city has torn down houses of other people who didn’t meet the requirements. The ministerial alliance now has until the first meeting in November to present a report to the board.
In other business,
Mayor Steve Rosenthal announced that the city has been awarded a $392,000 MSHomeCorp grant to rehabilitate homes in the city. He said there had been some doubt about whether the city would get the funds because it has received an award in the past five years, however, according to Rosenthal, the city’s participation in Keep America Beautiful and one other organization gave the city an extra 10 points that put them in position to receive it.
The aldermen approved the minutes from the August 13, August 27, September 10, September 24 and October 8 regular meetings plus a September 13 special call meeting.
After emerging from a closed executive session the board voted unanimously to terminate police officer Shuntequa Eriyonnia Lofton who was found guilty on charges of domestic violence—with injuries in municipal court last week. They also approved several probationary salary changes in the fire department.
