City to demolish two downtown buildings

By Alison James

alison.james@fct.wpengine.com

Nuisance abatement, approved at Monday’s Russellville City Council meeting, means – in laymen’s terms – that two of Russellville’s eyesores are about to be taken care of.
Buildings at 215 and 217 Lawrence Street West were damaged by a fire years ago, according to license and building inspector Bill Fuller.
“We were trying to figure out a way to get them down without damaging the building on the end,” Fuller said. “It’s going to be tricky.”
The council officially voted to declare the buildings a nuisance at its Monday meeting. The next step will be to accept bids for the demolition.
The council also:
– adopted a resolution authorizing the mayor to execute the Downtown Street Improvement TAP Project agreement with the State of Alabama
– rescheduled the first meeting in September to Sept. 8 because of the Labor Day holiday