Clean up time in Harvard Yard

Quorum Court agrees on plan to tear down blighted properties in subdivision

news@theeveningtimes.com

Crittenden County will look a little cleaner, at least a section of Harvard Yard now that Quorum Court Justices Tuesday agreed to spend about $30,000 tearing down dilapidated houses and cleaning up the trash and debris.

During Tuesday’s regular Quorum Court meeting justices went along with a committee recommendation to spend $15,000 on tearing down the condemned structures and another $15,000 for cleaning up the area.

Justice John Rech told fellow justices there are five old, abandoned houses on Bristol Street that the county has liens on and need to be torn down.

This is just the latest endeavor on the part of the county to target blighted areas and encourage property owners to either clean up their property or face legal action that can result in the county taking action. Justice Lisa O’Neal said there is a process by which the county has to follow when identifying neglected and abandoned private property and can take up to a year before any formal demolition can take place.

Judge Wheeless has made his is goal to address county blight including utilizing county crews when possible as well as providing Dumpster to areas where residents can take an active roll in cleaning up their neighborhoods.

Other areas Judge Wheeless is focusing on are Highland Park as well as Lakeshore.