A well-known Hattiesburg building will be the focus of an upcoming public hearing to determine whether the property is in such a state of uncleanliness as to be considered a menace to the public health and safety of the community.
The hearing will be held at 4 p.m. April 1 in Hattiesburg City Hall regarding the former Carlstedt's Wholesale Florist location at 600 Bouie Street in Hattiesburg. The building has sat empty since being heavily damaged by the February 2013 EF4 tornado that hit Hattiesburg and Petal, causing approximately $38.5 million worth of damage in the area.
“It’ll be just a standard public hearing for a dilapidated property,” Ward 1 Councilman Jeffrey George said. “It was something that we passed in mid-February, to set the public hearing, and it’s the same as if it were a residential property that was dilapidated.”
During the hearing, property owners and the public will have the chance to speak, learn about and give their opinions on the matter. The owner of the property, which is listed as the Oscar G. Carlstedt Company in Jacksonville, Florida, will be allowed to file an answer to the issue and to offer a defense at the hearing.
If the property is determined to be a hazard to public safety, the city will demolish the building and have the land cleared, if the owner is not willing to do so.
If the city does conduct the work, officials may then adjudicate that cost, including penalties. The costs may then become assessment against the property, in the form of a lien against the land.
“So the owners can tell us what they plan to do with the property, and if not, the council will typically adopt a resolution declaring it a menace,” George said. “The city would then take steps to secure the property, in whatever way that means.
“But the (building’s) roof is falling in, and the doors are open on the property – there’s a number of issues with the building. So it definitely needs to be secured so no one can get in.”
The 2013 tornado blew off the back half of the Bouie Street building, destroying much of its equipment and merchandise, but Carlstedt’s employees were able to work out of refrigerated trucks for about two weeks afterward. The business moved to a temporary location on Scooba Street before relocating to the former Moose Lodge building on South Main Street in Petal in July 2013.
Unfortunately for the business, that building was hit by another tornado less than four years later, in January 2017. Since then, the business has operated out of the former Leaf River Sports building on the Evelyn Gandy Parkway.
