Thomas Howard / The Meridian StarA backhoe operator with Cullum Construction on Friday tears down a condemned house on 42nd Avenue. The house was one of 27 structures scheduled for demolition.

The Meridian City Council will hold a public hearing to hear from residents as it moves forward with another list of dilapidated properties to be condemned and taken down.

The hearing, which is set for 5:15 p.m. on Nov. 21, will give property owners an opportunity to explain what they are doing to address the condition of their properties ahead of the city getting involved. The city’s process for bringing a property before the council for condemnation is lengthy, and multiple attempts to reach the owners have been made prior to its inclusion on the condemnation list.

City Attorney Will Simmons has previously explained that the city’s process for tearing down unsafe or dilapidated structures is purposefully slow and is designed to give property owners as many chances as possible to deal with the issue themselves. If the city does tear down a home or structure, the costs for that work is then placed as a lien on the property.

Property owners are often better off hiring a contractor to demolish the structure themselves ahead of the city getting involved as the legal requirements and red tape the city must go through typically results in a much higher cost, Simmons said.

Community Development Director Craig Hitt told council members a total of 43 structures are set to come before the council for potential condemnation. Should the council vote in favor of condemning some or all of the properties, the city will then advertise the demolition work for contractor bids.

In bidding out the project, the city packages multiple structures into one demolition contract as it makes the work more attractive to contractors, lowers the cost per house and saves on mobilization and other costs that are factored into contractors’ bids.

The city previously awarded a demolition contract for 27 structures to Cullum Construction in December 2022 at a cost of approximately $148,000. That work was completed earlier this year.

With the holiday season rapidly approaching, Hitt said it will likely be early 2024 before the demolition project is awarded and a contractor is in place.