PB council buys lot once discussed for city complex

Poplar Bluff City Council members voted Tuesday to purchase a building in the downtown area for $165,000, but have released no official plans for the future of the site.

Officials also discussed during the council meeting the removal of inhabitants from a downtown building deemed uninhabitable, and joint oversight expected for the code enforcement program.

The city will close Wednesday on 115 Pine St., owned by PWC Real Estate, said city attorney Mark Richardson. PWC was created in 2012 by Phil Childress of Poplar Bluff, according to state documents.

The property includes the former Expert Tire building, parking area and adjoining billboard.

The matter has been discussed by the council during closed meetings under real estate, city manager Mark Massingham said, as well as at a December open meeting when the council voted to pursue negotiations. The 6,500-square-foot former Expert Tire location was listed on real estate websites for $209,000 at that time.

Massingham said after Tuesday’s meeting that he could not release any other information at this time regarding plans for the property.

The location adjoins a closed parking garage owned by the city, as well as the former police department and city hall building.

During discussions by a city hall advisory committee in 2015, the property at 115 Pine was discussed in connection with a possible new city complex on Second Street.

The former police department and city hall were vacated in 2016.

In 2017, the council pursued a north Poplar Bluff location for a city complex. That was dropped in early 2018.

Code enforcement

After discussions concerning moving code enforcement to city hall, the program will remain at the police department, Massingham said during his city manager’s report.

City planner Matt Winters and Deputy Police Chief Donnie Trout will supervise that department in a combined effort, Massingham said.

“The planning department gets a lot of those calls anyway, so I think this will really help with code enforcement and give us better control over it,” Massingham said.

The city will also make a strong push in the spring to add to its adopt-a-street cleanup program, said Massingham, who discussed the bulk trash program’s ongoing efforts. Residents can purchase a ticket once a month to have large items, such as furniture, picked up by the street department for disposal.

Massingham said he is unsure what will happen with a building in the 200 block of South Main Street, which 26 people were evicted from last week.

There have been negative comments on social media about people being kicked out of their homes, Massingham said.

“Believe me, if any of you all had seen the inside of that building, you wouldn’t want an animal living there. It was deplorable. It was unhealthy, unsanitary. It pretty much made you sick if you want inside the building,” he said. “It’s a sad situation that people actually live like that.”

The building is owned by a private individual, not the city, said Massingham, adding the interior is in bad condition.