DALTON, Ga. — Dalton will raze three abandoned homes in the coming weeks in an effort to beautify the city.
“The city has identified several residential structures throughout the city that are in a great state of disrepair,” City Attorney Jim Bisson said.
Tearing down the homes costs between $4,000 and $6,000, city officials said. The cost will be passed onto the property owners, who were previously ordered by a City Court judge to tear down the properties or face city action.
The court told the property owners to tear down or repair the structures, which are all three unoccupied. The homes repair costs far outweighed the appraised value, Bisson said. The cost will be passed onto homeowners through court liens. The homeowner will be required to pay the demolition costs if the property changes hands.
In other business, the city postponed adopting new city laws that govern animal control. The city was prepared to adopt the laws, which are practically identical to laws recently adopted by Whitfield County.
Alderman Dick Lowrey said he wanted more time to discuss the ordinance’s dog-tethering restrictions. That portion of the law bans tying animals to a fixed point. Instead, pet owners are required to tether animals to a “running cable line” at least 20 feet long.
“I think that might put a hardship on some people,” Lowrey said. “I want to discuss it with the county and see if they have heard that from people.”
The council is set to take up the issue again at its Sept. 7 meeting.
The city also gave Mayor David Pennington authority to execute a contract with Curtis Hudson Construction for the building of a picnic shelter at Raisin Woods Bike Park.
The city will receive a Georgia Department of Natural Resources grant for $10,000 and contribute $6,000 toward the construction cost.
Adam Crisp covers education issues for the Times Free Press. He joined the paper's staff in 2007 and initially covered crime, public safety, courts and general assignment topics. Prior to Chattanooga, Crisp was a crime reporter at the Savannah Morning News and has been a reporter and editor at community newspapers in southeast Georgia. In college, he led his student paper to a first-place general excellence award from the Georgia College Press Association. He earned ...
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