EDITORIAL: County took steps forward on blight and animal control

Published 3:00 pm Saturday, August 1, 2020

A little more than two years ago, Baldwin County officials tackled two turbulent issues commanding their attention and ruffling feathers in the community. The community demanded a better functioning animal shelter and, after failed attempts at passing a new property maintenance code, they had to deal with local blight issues.

We’ve addressed both concerns in previous editorials, calling on county officials to listen to constituents and take the lead on finding solutions.

While it wasn’t always pretty or cordial, county commissioners did listen to concerned citizens and took in their feedback. They heard residents loud and clear on the property maintenance code, in particular, eventually voting down their own proposal. But unlike instances in the past, they didn’t let the community’s concerns fall through the cracks and go unresolved. 

They chipped away at the issue, focusing instead on working with the codes already on the books and seeing to it that ordinances were enforced. By working within the codes and ensuring consequences when homeowners don’t make an effort to comply, citations have been issued. Donors and volunteers have even stepped up to help when property owners have difficulty getting their homes up to compliance standards. 

Utilizing the county’s existing unsafe building abatement code, several blighted homes have been demolished, without any homeowner going to court and no additional cost to taxpayers.

Most importantly, however, several properties deemed unsafe and unsightly have been improved and others have been razed, contributing to the overall improvement of local neighborhoods. 

According to County Manager Carlos Tobar, the county has significantly reduced local blight, an effort that recently garnered national recognition. 

Not only are these property cleaner, but they are also, more importantly, safer for those who call them home. 

With the reopening of the Bobby Parham Kitchen, this creates a means by which blight at key entry points into the county can be effectively reduced, which will no doubt help in the continued developments on the Central State Hospital campus, not to mention the overall marketability of the community.

These two initiatives, the new animal shelter and the local blight reduction program, demonstrate what “passionate citizens working with their county government leaders to improve the community in an overall way,” according to county commission chairman Henry R. Craig. 

We couldn’t agree more.