The Board of Mayor and commissioners may have taken the first step toward cleaning up Clarksdale.
The city is considering hiring Victor Wheatley as a consultant to study the problem of abandoned cars and burned out houses in Clarksdale and would direct him to come up with a workable plan to rid the city of blight.
Wheatley, and other city residents, have repeatedly come before the city board asking that something be done about illegal dumping, junk cars and abandoned houses in their neighborhoods.
“Something needs to be written down and gray areas in the city’s ordinances need to be addressed,” said Wheatly. “I once had a Marine tell me if it’s not written down it doesn’t exist.”
Wheatley said he has already done a quick survey and spotted over 60 abandoned cars parked on city streets. He said his next step, if the city approves his study, would be to document the number of abandoned and burned houses in the city limits and find out who owns the property. He said the city needs data and numbers to make decisions.
Commissioners did not vote to hire Wheatley and said they would like to consider what he would study and the plan he would put together. No fee was discussed at Monday’s meeting.
Wheatley did present a copy of the city’s ordinances to the board and said that would be a good place to start.
Ward 1 Alderman Bo Plunk took Wheatley’s copy and pointed to City Attorney Melvin Miller and Police Chief Robbie Linley and said city ordinances must be enforced.
“We tossed this back and fourth and it will be put in your lap,” Plunk said to Miller and Linley. “We’ve all taken heat over this and we’re ready to get something in black and white.”
Mayor Chuck Espy and commissioners have talked about addressing blight for more than two year and have made it a top priority at almost every meeting this summer.
Falling property values, liablity concerns and just the run-down appearance of Clarksdale to residents and tourist have pushed the issue to the forefront.
The study would look at the downtown, major streets into the city and commercial , rental and residential property.
