Osyka aldermen heard pleas this month to address unsightly properties.
Kim Wall, Linda Williams and others attended the Nov. 1 board meeting to seek action on the former Red and White Store building at the intersection of Highways 51 and 584.
They said the building is in terrible condition and should be torn down, and tires need to be cleared off the property.
Mayor Allen Applewhite said tires are being moved on and off the property.
“They moved about 400 tires, and it didn’t look like they moved four,” Applewhite said. “Then they moved in more tires.”
Wall noted that the tires can collect water and allow more mosquitoes to breed.
She also said she believes people are dumping unwanted animals in town, with six dogs and 12 cats that she knows of. She speculated that there’s a feral colony of cats in town.
Concerning the old store building, Wall said she had spoken with county Supervisor Gary Honea and been told that the county could tear down the building if the town can’t.
Applewhite said the town can’t afford to tear the building down, but “I have no problem with that building being torn down if the county can do it.”
Board attorney Wayne Dowdy advised the board by phone to declare the property a nuisance, noting the public comments about its condition, and set a hearing on the matter during the next meeting on Dec. 6.
During the hearing, the board can accept photos as evidence of the state of the property, as well as have the clerk record the comments in the hearing.
If the board proceeds with condemning the property, and the supervisors agree to tear the building down, Dowdy said the county could add the cost to the owner’s taxes.
Board members voted 4-0, with Ken Morris Jr. absent, to declare the nuisance and set the hearing.
Williams pointed to unsightly clutter and trash elsewhere in town — on railroad property, where piles of crossties and a portable toilet have been sitting in view of downtown stores and just across the tracks from Veterans Park.
“You don’t see trash like that in Magnolia or McComb or Summit” on railroad property, Williams said. “Osyka looks terrible. Osyka wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the railroad, but they’re using Osyka the wrong way.”
Applewhite said the town had little leverage with rail firm Canadian National because the company and its property fall largely under federal jurisdiction.
Police Chief Brian Mullins suggested that the state Public Service Commission might be able to intercede on the town’s behalf and get some results.
In other business, the board:
• Raised public works employee Larry Arnold’s salary by $2 per hour. Another department employee quit and will not be replaced.
• Received a cost estimate of $255,716 for further repair of the drainage ditch through town.
• Learned Griner Drilling Service would inspect the town water well and might be able to perform work that could cut the town’s water losses, which run close to 50 percent each month.
• Approved Osyka Civic Club’s “Christmas in Osyka” event to be held 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Dec. 8.
• Approved Wreaths Across America in Veterans Park starting at 11 a.m. on Dec. 15.
• Donated $500 to Veterans Park.
• Approved a privilege license for Austin’s Bar-b-Que.
• Acknowledged $1,390.50 in court fines and fees.
• Noted 12 tickets written by town police in October.
