City Council Discusses Abandoned Houses

Harrodsburg Commissioner Marvin “Bubby” Isham wanted to talk about abandoned and neglected houses Monday night.

Isham told the Harrodsburg Board of Commissioners more needs to be done. He said he had counted 30 houses in just a 15-minute ride around town.

“I don’t feel we’re doing enough,” Isham said. “We keep sending letters and we keep sending letters but nothing’s getting done.”

The commissioner recommended moving up the deadlines on when property owners had to take action.

“Instead of giving them 90 days, let’s give them seven days,” Isham said.

The other commissioners agreed with him that Harrodsburg has a problem with neglected and abandoned properties.

Mayor Eddie Long said the city didn’t need to amend existing ordinances to tackle the problem.

“You can tear anything down for safety reasons,” Long said. “But how do we afford to tear down 30 homes?”

In May, the city bought the building located at 129 S. Main St., which was once home to Graves Jewelry and the “Kentucky Lit” cigar shop, in order to demolish it.

“We paid $30,000 for a 16-foot lot,” the mayor said.

Find out more in this week’s The Harrodsburg Herald.