By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

ALABASTER – The city of Alabaster is looking to cover the expense it incurred when demolishing a burned-out house along a high-traffic corridor in the city, as it recently placed a lien on the property formerly housing the structure.

Council members voted unanimously during their Sept. 10 meeting to place a $3,068 lien against 574 Simmsville Road. The vote came after a public hearing on the matter, during which nobody spoke for or against.

In May, the city awarded a bid to the Alabaster-based Cornerstone Tree Service to demolish the burned house and adjacent storage shed about a year after the fire destroyed the home.

During a meeting earlier this year, the Housing Abatement Board recommended the structure be torn down after the property owners did not comply with requests to demolish the structure themselves. The Housing Abatement Board passed its recommendation on to the City Council, which approved the demolition in February.

Ward 1 Councilwoman Sophie Martin previously said the property owner does not live in the area.

Since the City Council voted to accept the Housing Abatement Board’s recommendation in May, the city covered the cost of tearing down the structure, and has now placed the cost as a lien against the property. The lien, which the council will vote on after the demolition is completed, must be repaid before the property can be sold in the future.