By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

ALABASTER – The city of Alabaster will recoup the costs it incurred when demolishing and clearing two dilapidated properties off Butler Road after City Council members voted unanimously during an Aug. 28 meeting to attach liens against the properties.

The council agreed to place liens against 2022 Butler Road and 2040 Butler Road. The vote came after public hearings on the matter, during which nobody spoke for or against placing the two liens.

During a mid-March meeting, the Alabaster City Council voted unanimously to accept recommendations from the city’s Housing Abatement Board to demolish the long-vacant homes on the two properties.

During a Jan. 19 work session, Alabaster Fire Department Planning and Safety Division Lt. Rick Benson said the pair of homes had been empty for a significant amount of time, and said they presented safety hazards for those who live near them.

Benson said the properties were so overgrown many passersby don’t know they contain homes, and said the lots posed a hazard to children and others who trespass there.

Because the city paid to have the properties cleared, it is considering the liens to recoup its costs. If the liens are approved in late August, they would have to be repaid to the city if the properties are sold in the future.

The city paid $14,580 to clear 2022 Butler Road, and paid $6,580 to clear 2040 Butler Road. As a result of the liens, the cost of the demolitions must be repaid to the city before the properties can be sold in the future.