City council voted to adopt Blight Elimination program

COLUMBUS, Miss. (W CBI) – Rundown properties are a problem in just about every town. In Columbus, city leaders are taking steps to clean things up.

Tuesday night the city council voted to adopt guidelines for a Blight Elimination Program.

The program would allow the city to demolish blighted properties and offer other uses for those cleared spaces, including redevelopment and green space.

Those blighted properties could include dilapidated, unoccupied buildings and overgrown lots.

The city will have to have ownership of a property before it can be demolished.

Of course, all of this costs money. The Council earmarked 500 thousand dollars of ARPA funds to get the ball rolling, and they have been in contact with Supervisors, who are considering adding up to 350 thousand to the pot.

City leaders are also looking for other sources.

Categories: Local News