Jefferson City Council approves blight study on East Capitol Avenue area

The Jefferson City Council took another step to address the homes in severe disrepair near the State Capitol Tuesday.

At the city council meeting, council members voted to approve a blight study on the East Capitol Avenue Area.

The $25,000 study will be funded through a grant from the Housing Authority of Jefferson City. The grant does not require a local match.

Missouri law defines a “blighted area” as one with unsanitary or unsafe conditions, deterioration, or conditions that may endanger life or property among other factors.

Residents in the area told ABC 17 News the dilapidated homes were a growing problem. The residents said despite calling in numerous complaints, more and more homeless people have been pitching tents in between two of the abandoned houses and staying there.

Mayor Carrie Tergin said the city has been battling the problem for many years, and the blight study is another step to try and fix the historic homes that have become eyesores and potential hazards.

“The city is taking all the steps we possibly can,” Tergin said. “And the blight study is just part of that. It allows us to have these properties documented so that we can move forward on whatever opportunities there may be for the city to really take some action.”

The city won a lawsuit in May against Barbara Buescher, one of the landowners for many of the rundown properties, when a Cole County judge found the homes in violation of city code. Buescher must now pay the city nearly $25,000.