CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Kanawha County Commission provided at its meeting Thursday an update to its $1 million demolition program, which includes allowing municipalities to submit structures to be considered for the program.
The commission previously received a grant from the state Housing Development Authority for $1 million, in which fees from building permits go toward removing dilapidated structures.
Buildings in unincorporated communities were originally the only structures allowed to be destroyed, but municipalities are now allowed to request structures that should be removed.
“These abandoned buildings became a haven for drug dealers and criminals,” Kanawha County Commission President Kent Carper said. “Children and women are assaulted in them. There’s all kinds of reasons (for removal.)”
Carper said St. Albans requested funds to have buildings in the city destroyed, and were willing to set aside city funds for related work. Carper said the commission agreed to not accept payment from St. Albans because of the city’s budgetary issues.
Structure owners are notified when their building is on the list. Carper said residents are not removed from the homes.
“We try to do those that are abandoned first with the rare exception of if it becomes a fire trap or a fire hazard or obviously if they are using it to sell drugs out of, we change that,” he said.
The county has torn down several hundred homes already, according to Carper, and some residents have even repaired their residences after being notified by the county. Carper said several cities in eastern Kanawha County have reached out about the program.