Council gives Tisdale 90 days to fix old depot
Published 2:50 am Wednesday, March 2, 2016
![City officials say a wooden structure near the depot needs to be demolished. Owner John Tisdale says the structure is very important.](https://www.andalusiastarnews.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2015/12/depot.gif)
City officials say a wooden structure near the depot needs to be demolished. Owner John Tisdale says the structure is very important.
The Andalusia City Council moved forward Tuesday with the abatement of the old railroad depot, located at 23 S. Cotton St. and owned by John Tisdale.
Two weeks ago, the council gave Tisdale additional time to present a complete plan, including a timeline, for work that needed to be done on the property.
City attorney Mark Christiansen said he had received some documents from Tisdale’s attorney, Allen Mitchell of Dothan, but not a complete plan. Mitchell asked for additional time to complete that plan. Christiansen said the parties weren’t even close to an agreement.
At issue was whether or not a wooden structure, formerly a freight warehouse, would be removed, which was the city’s first recommendation. Tisdale believes the warehouse has historic value and doesn’t want to remove it.
Because the city moved forward with the abatement without having a plan in place, Tisdale will have 90 days to complete all work.
Director of planning Andy Wiggins said if Tisdale doesn’t want to demolish what remains of the warehouse, he’ll have to get it to code in 90 days. Other requirements are that building materials, building debris, and weeds be removed; that graffiti on the depot building be removed; and that the roof on the brick depot be repaired.