ABOVE: Mayor Rickey Williams, Jr and Alderman Doug Ahrens ended up in a one-on-one debate during “Committee Members Comments.”
The final item on Tuesday (July 22nd) night’s Danville City Council Public Services Committee meeting agenda ended up lasting nearly an hour. It began when Alderwoman Tricia Teague passed out information she had collected on vacant homes in horrible condition, not boarded up, and often desperately needing the grass mowed, She discovered that these homes were often owned by the city, including one that burned down last week in the 500 block of Chandler Street.
Since Mayor Rickey Williams, Jr and Alderman Doug Ahrens had disagreed during last week’s full council meeting about whether the city actually is boarding up the houses it purchases for future demolition, this topic was fresh on the Council’s mind. The general picture was that the city is boarding up these homes, but is having trouble keeping up with boarding them up again once vandals or squatters come into the picture. In fact, we asked Mayor Williams after the meeting if this was a reflection of high homelessness. The mayor said it’s more a reflection of high vandalism.
Audio PlayerAUDIO: They want to go into these homes; they strip them of all the copper, and other wiring that’s in there; any kind of metal that can be recycled. Most of it is more related to vandalism, and people trying to make some kind of economic gain off of whatever’s left.
The Members’ Comments session eventually turned into a debate between Mayor Williams and Alderman Ahrens. The major topic was “can more money be set aside for quick demolition of city owned homes?” Currently, 100% of city cannabis revenue, and 60% of city casino revenue; go to police and fire pensions. The major said “there’s only so much money in a mixed pot that can go to so many things.”
But Alderman Ahrens, the former Director of Public Works; says the city needs to calculate things differently, following more information being released by city administration.
Mayor Williams, Alderwoman Teague, Alderman Ahrens.
Was this committee meeting debate a preview of the next mayoral election? Ahrens told us afterwards that he does want some things done differently; but there is plenty of time before the 2027 election, such as the next budget session, to get those things done.
Audio PlayerAUDIO: The fact of the matter is that we’ve got a lot of work to do between now and then. Yes, there’s variables that we can consider; which is how the funds are raised to pay for pensions in the city.
Mayor Williams stated that the only thing he’s “running for” right now is “to do his job.”
Audio PlayerAUDIO: And the stewardship that we’ve already provided for this community; and to make sure that we are excellent stewards of the taxpayer dollars.
One of Alderwoman Teague’s many points was that if the city inspectors are going to go after homeowners for things such as home upkeep and the grass being mowed, then the city needs to do their part for the homes it owns already.
