City targets two abandoned buildings for clean up

By Donnita Fisher

Managing Editor - 

The Canton Council has started the legal process to get two properties cleaned up or torn down.

At a special meeting June 29, the council voted 4-0 to send letters to the owners of property at 901 W. College St. and 1755 Elliott St. telling them to bring their empty buildings up to standard, raze them or else.

“Neither one of these buildings are worth fixing up,” City Manager Lonny Cluck said. “But to put this in perspective, the city could have half a million dollars tied up in tearing these buildings down.”

The buildings – one an abandoned nursing home – contain asbestos but they have become havens for vagrants and drug addicts, Cluck said.

While councilmembers expressed concern about legal proceedings, concern for the community has to outweigh that, they said.

“It could be we have to go through a couple of lawsuits,” Councilwoman City Malouf said. “If we’ve done everything correct, it will be found in our favor and people will see that it won’t do any good to sue.”

Building Inspector Dwight Lancaster assured the council that “as long as you follow due process, it’s going to solve a lot of those legal problems.”

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