Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Set backs won't stop city's clean-up efforts

The City of Gurdons clean-up efforts are continuing despite a brief set-back, according to Gurdon Mayor Clayton Franklin.

The city recently began a process in which it is attempting to eliminate abandoned and dilapidated properties in town. The process involved the condemnation of the property before city workers demolished and removed it. The cost of demolishing the structures must be paid by the property owners. Franklin said that of the houses demolished thus far, all have paid.

Last month, an inspector from the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality visited with city officials about the demolition process. Franklin said the inspector noted that the law requires an asbestos inspection on each structure that is demolished. To that point, the city had not had any of the structures inspected before the demolition began.

Franklin said the ADEQ inspector gave the city a book of guidelines to follow when removing a structure. The guidelines include hiring a certified asbestos inspector that is approved by ADEQ. The inspector must check each structure for asbestos and any asbestos found must be removed before it can be demolished.

Franklin said the city has received a letter from ADEQ stating that the city would not be fined for the houses demolished without following procedure.

Franklin said the city has hired Parish Abaitment Service to check the structures for hazardous materials. The company has already inspected the next ten houses that are to be demolished by the city. Of the ten, Franklin said only one contained asbestos that can be easily removed by city crews and discarded.

The cost of inspection is averaging $300 per house, Franklin said.

It was a little bump in the road, Franklin said of having to hire an inspector.

The process is being funded by a grant received by the city from Southern Development Corp. of Arkadelphia.

Franklin said he is pleased with the way the clean-up process has gone thus far. He said four property owners have demolished structures themselves to save the expense of having the city do the work. He said others are beginning to do other work around properties that were not previously cared for to avoid condemnation.