By Loyd McIntosh, For The Tribune
CENTER POINT — The Center Point City Council ran through a packed agenda and heard from several citizens while addressing several major issues during its first council meeting of the year on Thursday, January 5.
Among the items on the agenda were a list of 35 properties marked by the city as public nuisances. The council held a public hearing for property owners to make their cases, calling each property one by one and allowing two minutes for comment followed by two minutes of discussion by the council.
In the end, only two people addressed the council regarding property considered for abatement; Marc Scholl, a real estate agent with Arc Realty representing a property at 2633 35th Street NW, and April Levert, the owner of a property at 2309 4th Street NW. In each case, the council granted a 30-day extension.
Center Point Mayor Bobby Scott said the public hearing is part of a set of aggressive new policies the city has implemented to deal with public nuisance properties for the city, which handed out more than 2,000 citations in 2022 alone. Scott said that the new policies are already bearing fruit, and there is cause for optimism.
“I will say of the 35 properties on this list that received notifications, we actually only had 12 that did not abate,” Scott said. “So, this process is working for us, and we’ll continue to push it, and hopefully, people will get the idea.”
Council President D.M. Collins added that the city will give every cited property owner a chance to address the council before any action is taken.
“We have hearings where the owners are able to come and speak before the council and make their case that they’re trying and allow grace and an opportunity to abate,” Collins said.
The next public hearing regarding dangerous structures eyed for demolition will take place on February 2 at 1 p.m.
During public comment, Kimberly Berry, a resident of Upland Apartment comments, addressed the council regarding the squalid state of the apartment complex that has been a sore spot for the city for years. Additionally, Berry provided the council with photographs providing visual evidence of the conditions she and her fellow residents are forced to live in at the complex.
“This place is unlivable,” Berry said. “I cannot use my bathroom. We have a rat infestation, and this is the third winter I haven’t had heat.
“I have reached out to Mayor Scott, the Department of Health, the Better Business Bureau, and I’m about to reach out to Fox 6. I shouldn’t be staying in that environment,” Berry added. “What can be done about this type environment?”
The property in question is one of two apartment complexes – Upland and Southwind – purchased by Capstone Realty & Management, a real estate company based in Lakewood, New Jersey. The company has planned to spend $2 million on a comprehensive renovation plan for both properties but has only begun work on the Southwind complex, which is unoccupied. Scott assured Berry that he and the city attorney Julian Hendrix will address the situation with Capstone immediately.
“We can’t have our residents living in those conditions,” Scott said. “Our attorney will be reaching out to them tomorrow to let them know they have to fix these conditions.”
In July 2022, the City Council approved a 30 percent tax abatement plan over seven years at the request of Capstone Realty. Scott said he is not sure of the order in which Capstone planned to renovate the properties but insists that the problems affecting the livability of Upland must be addressed promptly.
“I won’t say for certain that they are falling behind, I’m not sure what their actual plan for both properties is, but we will definitely reach out and see if there is a working plan, if they’re behind or if they’re ahead of schedule,” said Scott. “That’s not something we want to see happen or see our residents have to go through. We’ll do what we can on our part to make sure that it’s rectified.”
Collins added that rescinding the tax abatement plan is an option at this point.
“I would consider bringing it to the council,” said Collins.
In other News
- The council approved a new sign ordinance placing new restrictions for commercial, business, and industrial zones;
- The council approved a new storm shelter to be located at the Center Point Community Center on Sunhill Road; and
- The City Council approved a plan by the Birmingham-Jefferson County Transit Authority to continue bus service for Center Point residents at a cost of just over $111,000 per year.