Arkadelphia city board condemns abandoned 2-story home

By JOE MAY | The Southern Standard

The Arkadelphia Board of Directors voted unanimously Tuesday evening to condemn an abandoned two-story home at 1516 Logan St.

Code Enforcement Officer Lt. Don Cleek told the board that the property’s owner died several years back and there has been no success in finding heirs for the property.

“The property poses a threat to the health, safety and the welfare” of the neighborhood,” Cleek noted, stating that the house was “too dangerous” to enter. “I was actually afraid to walk around it,” he recounted, noting that the porch and a side room have collapsed.

Because of an unsuccessful search by the city for someone to repair the property, Cleek said the next step is to condemn the property and post a notice of condemnation on the door. After 30 days, the house can be demolished, he said.

City Manager Gary Brinkley said it will cost $7,000 to demolish the property. Once this is accomplished, the city would put a lien on the lot and eventually sell it. Vice Mayor Roland Gosey, noting the property has been without a known owner since 2022, asked about the possibility of back taxes. Brinkley replied that, if someone purchased it for taxes, the city’s lien would have to be paid first.

At the motion of Directors Keith Crews and Taylor Chaney, the measure to condemn the property passed.

In other business, the board passed on its third reading a motion to decrease the number of members on the city’s planning and zoning committee from nine to seven.