LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A program created to eliminate vacant and abandoned properties is being questioned by members of Louisville Metro Council.
The main concern from the Community Affairs and Housing Committee is with dozens of properties that have been sold but remain the same. And in some cases, the homes are seen as an "eyesore" next door.
"They never come cut the grass," said Ralph Thomas, who lives in the Algonquin neighborhood. "I call in, sometimes they send somebody out, sometimes they don't."
Thomas takes a lot of pride in his home on West Gaulbert Avenue but said the house next door has been a problem for several years.
"Sometimes, I come out in the morning, guys would be sleeping on the porch," he said.
The property was owned by the city and sold last year as part of a program created to eliminate vacant properties.
"I was very relieved," Thomas said. "I had called in about the property."
And Thomas said, even under new ownership, the house next door was still an eyesore for several months after the purchase. And he's not the only one paying attention.
"They're still sitting vacant with violations on them right now, the ones that were bought," said Metro Councilwoman Dr. Barbara Shanklin.
Council members questioned the Director of the Vacant and Public Property Administration on Wednesday about the properties sold through the Land Bank Authority and why so many were sold to one person.
"He bought 31 houses for $7,100," said Shanklin, chair of the Community Affairs and Housing Committee, but not the only one with concerns.
Councilwoman Mary Woolridge was very vocal in her concerns and outrage.
"This is absolutely ludicrous,"she said. "We're going to have an investor buy all the property in west Louisville and then rent it out on Section 8?"
A large number of the properties were purchased by Mirage Properties on River Park Drive. Owner Mike Burkhead said at least 12 of the homes, including the one on West Gaulbert Avenue, are being renovated, but finding workers has been a challenge.
"All they need is a hand up, not a handout," said Rev. Dr. Charles Elliott, who created a program called "Jesus and a Job" to put ex-felons to work renovating abandoned houses.
He said his guys are ready to work.
"They're already in the system with Jesus and a Job, and all I got to do is tell them that I got 100 houses or 300 houses or whatever number," Elliott said.
The land bank does have the authority to take back properties, but that rarely happens.
Burkhead said his company has been doing business for nearly 20 years, invested millions of dollars and is not an outsider.
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