STEPHENVILLE -
Coun. Don Gibbon is concerned about photos of dilapidated buildings in Stephenville showing up on a Facebook page and told council members it's not a good reflection on the town.
Mayor Tom O'Brien said management has been after property owners to do something with these buildings and is trying its best to force some of the owners to fix them up or tear them down.
"However, we have to do it following the rules and regulations and go through the process.
Some of these properties are residential and some are commercial and there are sometimes legal disputes that drag it out longer," he said.
O'Brien used the apartments on Pleasant Avenue as an example, noting the town was just about four years arguing with the property owners and mortgage companies on those and in the end it cost the town nearly $50,000 to demolish those properties.
He said they can't do much about what somebody wants to put on a Facebook page.
Town manager Barry Coates said there was one commercial property in the town that was actually seven years in the courts. He said nonetheless, they are still trying to have dilapidated properties improved.
