Demopolis talks next steps to improve downtown, reappoints Stephens to school board

Demopolis city officials are figuring out their next steps to bring downtown buildings up to code.

On April 16 the city council gave downtown property owners 45 days to tell the city how they plan to correct “known or suspected issues” with their property. That deadline expired on June 8.

Demopolis Mayor Woody Collins said at the June 18 city council meeting that “just because we’re not pounding on (property owners’) door” now that the deadline has expired, it doesn’t mean the city has forgotten its promise to compel property owners to bring their buildings up to building codes.

“We are committed to do this for downtown and for the people who have spent millions of dollars in it and are about to,” Collins said. “This is a work in progress behind the scenes. When we do it, we will do it right.”

Collins admitted that there is “some indecision on our part” on how to enforce the city’s demands. He agreed with City Councilman Charles Jones Jr. that the city should have given property owners a list of what they needed to do to bring their property up to code.

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The April 16 letter required property owners to submit a timeline for completing their actions and any temporary measures they will take in the meantime “to improve safety, appearance or stability” of their building, according to the letter.

Some building owners have responded.

In other business, the city council reappointed Betsy Stephens to the Demopolis School Board.

Stephens has served one term on the board and serves as its chair. Collins said school officials requested that Stephens be reappointed.