City Council lays over demolition cost items after public questions about inspections and a $447,558.65 bill

Mobile City Council members on May 20 laid over multiple agenda items to fix demolition costs for vacant structures after a resident questioned whether the city is proactively inspecting deteriorating properties and flagged a $447,558.65 cost for 1901 Bishop Avenue.

The layover gives the Housing Board and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development time to respond before the council decides whether to assess the listed demolition costs to property owners.

Resident Reggie Hill spoke during the public hearing on demolition costs and urged the council to inspect properties earlier in the deterioration process. “I would like for us to begin doing direct inspections on these properties,” Hill said, arguing proactive inspections could prevent lengthy and costly demolitions. Hill also drew attention to the line item for 1901 Bishop Avenue, saying, “this is nearly $500,000,” and asking who would be charged for the work.

Councilman Carroll, who said he visited the property on Congress Street in his district, told Hill the city already deploys building inspectors who evaluate structural integrity, roof and wall condition, and water intrusion. “I was the one that laid it over so that I could physically put my eyes on it to see if it was salvageable,” Carroll said, describing why some items had previously been postponed for inspection.

After public comment, council members moved to lay over the demolition-cost items covering several addresses — including 1267 Congress Street and 1901 Bishop Avenue — for 60 days. The motion passed by voice vote; the mover and seconder were not recorded in the public transcript. Council President Small announced the items would be revisited in 60 days to allow the Housing Board and HUD to respond.

The record on the agenda shows the council already places some demolition and nuisance determinations on formal consent and resolution dockets; on May 20 the council handled multiple such items in a single hearing. The public hearing format allowed residents to speak on the listed properties, and the council treated the requests to fix demolition costs as items requiring additional review rather than immediate authorization to bill property owners.

Next steps set by the council include reopening the hearing after 60 days; any formal decision to assess costs will be made at that later meeting. The record did not show a determination of which party would pay the $447,558.65 assessed for 1901 Bishop Avenue, only that further review was requested and the item was laid over.