<body><div><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2aTifS_1FBkmPA500" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2aTifS_1FBkmPA500" width="1280" height="720" >HENDERSON, La. (KLFY) — The town of Henderson is working to clear 25 blighted properties through a state-funded demolition program that Mayor Sherbin Collette says has been years in the making.The properties include old homes, trailers and commercial buildings throughout the town. Collette said property owners participating in the program are not being charged for the demolition, and once each site is cleared, dirt will be brought in and the property will be leveled.Collette said the town received a $250,000 state grant to help pay for the work.The effort began about two years ago after council members attended a Louisiana Municipal Association meeting where blighted property cleanup was discussed.Collette said the town later identified dozens of properties and sent out 34 letters to owners offering to have the sites cleared. Twenty-nine initially responded, but several later asked to be removed from the program, leaving 25 properties moving forward.For Collette, the project addresses an issue residents have raised for years.“When I first got into office, a lot of people would come to me. ‘You got to clean up the town.’ And I wanted to do it,” Collette said. Collette said many property owners could not afford to clear deteriorating structures on their own, which made enforcement difficult.“Some of them are real poor. Some of them sometimes they couldn’t even buy a bread to feed their kids the next morning. My heart, I’m not giving them a ticket. I am not going to do it.”Of the 25 properties included in the project, Collette said 21 do not contain asbestos. Four others do, requiring additional work and a separate contractor.Pellerin &amp; Sons, Inc. is one of the companies involved in the demolition work. Collette said a second contractor is handling properties containing asbestos because of the additional requirements involved.He said one asbestos-containing property near the town park will require more work than originally expected.Several people who spoke with KLFY off camera said they are happy to see the cleanup moving forward. Collette said the process has also been emotional for some property owners who are watching places tied to years of memories come down.Collette said crews have already cleared several sites and estimates the full project will take about three to four months.“So, it took 23 years and here it is, finally”, Collette said.</div></body>

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HENDERSON, La. (KLFY) — The town of Henderson is working to clear 25 blighted properties through a state-funded demolition program that Mayor Sherbin Collette says has been years in the making. The properties include old homes, trailers and commercial buildings throughout the town. Collette said property owners participating in...

Henderson clearing 25 blighted properties through state-funded program

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