Tia Lyons
Staff Writer
EL DORADO — The cleanup of debris from the demolition of the old Southside school building is moving slowly, but the work is ongoing, city officials were told last week.
Alderman Willie McGhee asked Thursday about an anticipated completion date for the project, saying that he has received inquiries from citizens who live in the area.
The city razed the vacant, three-story building earlier this year, citing safety issues and recurring break-ins and vandalism.
The former Southside Elementary School was closed in 2002 and in the succeeding years, a nonprofit agency, which provided several services, including a culinary arts/catering school, operated out of a portion of the building.
The agency folded in 2014, and the school had since sat vacant.
Per the terms of the agency’s agreement with the El Dorado School District, the deed for the building reverted back to the district when the agency ceased operation.
The ESD then deeded the property to the city with the intention that the city would raze it due to the poor condition of the building.
Mayor Frank Hash and Robert Edmonds, director of public works, previously said much of the building had fallen into a state of disrepair.
The echoed those statements in response to McGhee’s question during an El Dorado City Council meeting on May 19.
The city took the Southside building down last winter, and piles of bricks and other demolition debris remain on the site.
Edmonds acknowledged that while crews have hauled some of the debris away over the past few months, there is still much work to do on the property, which takes up a city block on the northeast corner of the intersection of Jackson and Pecan.
“Do we have a date to get it cleaned up? People have been asking me about it,” McGhee said.
Edmonds said the top priority last winter was to raze the building amid safety concerns and ongoing vandalism.
“The roof was caving in, and the floors were rotten and falling in in a lot of spots. We primarily wanted to get that thing down,” Edmonds said.
City officials said public works crews have been stretched thin on other projects throughout the spring — some of which has included the cleanup of limbs and trees and other such work associated with severe storms that have rumbled through the area in recent weeks.
Code Enforcement Officer Kirby Craig noted that the city is also behind schedule in demolishing structures on its condemnation list.
“We’re way down on these houses because they’re working on so much other stuff,” Craig said.
Edmonds said city workers had sprayed Southside grounds with herbicide Thursday to prevent weeds from overtaking the property.
The city has not scheduled a completion date for the removal of demolition debris Edmonds said, adding that crews are squeezing in the work when they can.
“We don’t have an exact date, but if it’s a priority, we can change what we’re doing,” Edmonds told the council.
Tia Lyons may be contacted at 870-862-6611 or by email at [email protected].