FAIRVIEW — The Fairview town council continued its discussion on ways to expedite the cleanup efforts of what remains of a former apartment building.

The old Craft building sits in a state of disrepair — large portions of the roof and several exterior walls are missing — just a few hundred yards away from Fairview Town Hall, at the town’s Hwy. 69 and Wesley Ave. The property was purchased in its state in 2013.

The town began looking at ways to have the property cleaned up in 2021, with councilmembers saying they were concerned about the safety risks of the structure and the potential that it had to attract vagrants.

During Monday night’s council meeting, Mayor Keith Henry said that the property owner had attended past council meetings and told members that several integral portions of the building would be completed by August. It was noted that he had made several efforts to satisfy the town’s wishes by adding a fence and making some improvements to the building’s interior.

Henry was still concerned that the ambitious August timeline would not be able to be met, Councilmember Steve Eddleman added that he “would like to see a roof in place by the end of June.”

The council approved sending the property owner a certified letter stating that the council would be monitoring his progress until June to determine if additional measures would need to be taken.

It was suggested that the letter contain instructions to “maintain and manicure” the property by performing regular landscaping and trash cleanup.

“Even though he’s working on it, it still pretty much looks abandoned. If he would just mow the grass and keep the trash picked up out front, it would help a lot,” Henry said.

The council also heard from Fairview Fire and Rescue Chief Doug Williams, who shared that the department’s newly elected officers and board members had recently been sworn in.

Results of the January Fairview Fire and Rescue Election are:

• Chief — Doug Williams
• Assistant Chief — Alan Miner
• Treasurer — Mark West
• Secretary — Amy Haynes

Chairman of the Board — Josh York

• Board Members — Randy Bailey, Larry Johns, Brandon Sears, Clint Haynes and Alex Williams.

The council also adopted a resolution for the Cullman Emergency Management Agency’s Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan.