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Budget Committee August 7, 1999 Page 12 Councilman McWaters said curb and gutters is one of his concerns along with removal of all of the old dilapidated houses that are eyesores in the City. Mr. Battle pointed out the need for updating the parks and recreational areas. City Manager Malone again invited the Committee to take tours of any of the areas of concern. He said it could be a formalized committee meeting, tours could be set up on any given day. Councilman Gray stated he would like to tour the streets and parks. Then he wanted to show the Committee three parks in particular. Mr. Wilson told the Committee what he would like for them to do during the tours, is to pick any street in an older neighborhood that they will be going down, and take a ten block area and count the number of houses that are almost, either not inhabitable, or will be within two or three years. Mr. Wilson said the Committee will be shocked at what they see, and the City's revenue is going to start being depleting off the tax roll because these houses are going to have to be taken off the tax roll, and the City is going to have the expense of tearing them down. Mr. Wilson discussed the expense of rehabing housing today. Mr. Wilson said the City of Bonham passed an ordinance to the effect that if you rehab a house or building they would not raise the taxes for six years. City Manager Malone told the Committee that one of the problems is that most people do not have the money to do rehabilitation of their homes or rental property, but the City has been working on that end of it for some time through housing rehabilitation grants. Mr. Anderson said some of the problems with the vacant lots is the ownership. The titles are clouded. Mr. Wilson advised that there are state laws that have changed which will allow a person to build on a lot, or says a person cleans it up and