With almost no discussion, two more houses were added to the city’s demolition list Tuesday by the Vicksburg Board of Mayor and Aldermen.

The houses are at 500 Sycamore St., off Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, and 1518 Sky Farm Ave., west of Cedar Hill Cemetery.

“We don’t like taking houses down,” said Victor Gray-Lewis, Building and Inspections director. “We would prefer the owners keep them up or an investor come along and buy the house, or weigh the cost of fixing it up and putting a family in it.”

Gray-Lewis said the city has no timetable for the demolition but will take down the structures as the Public Works Department has time available.

The two homes join 60 others the board already on a demolition list. Twenty-five were demolished in 2010.

Properties are added to the list after numerous efforts to work with property owners to make repairs and keep the structures fit for occupation. Even after being slated for demolition, razing can be avoided by making the necessary repairs.

In an answer to a question by North Ward Alderman Michael Mayfield, Gray-Lewis said he had spoken with the owner of the Sycamore Street property last week and she requested that the city take the house down.

There was no other discussion about adding the two sites to the list or approving two other properties, at 1326 and 1337 Wood St., for mowing, trash and debris cleanup.

The cost of demolishing structures is borne by the city and ranges from $2,000 to $5,000. The cost typically is assessed back to the property owner as a lien and collected through taxes, Gray-Lewis said.

Occasionally, a property that has passed to a number of heirs not interested in retaining ownership is sold at auction, Gray-Lewis said, or may revert to city ownership.