Two weeks after the Vicksburg Board of Zoning Appeals failed to have a quorum for a public hearing on a high-profile request for a special exception, the Board of Mayor and Aldermen filled one of two vacant board spots Wednesday.

Steven J. Jones, 26, will fill the spot left vacant with Casey Fisher’s resignation in 2010.

The vote was 3-0. Mayor Paul Winfield participated via speaker phone connections from Jackson, where he was attending a meeting of the Mississippi Municipal League.

Jones’ appointment to the zoning board, which is designed by city ordinance to include seven members, is the first since 2010, when two members resigned.

Over the past two years, the zoning board has failed to meet five times because a quorum was lacking.

It failed to have a quorum on Jan. 10 for a hearing on Mountain of Faith Ministries’ request for a special exception to operate a transitional housing facility for homeless people at the former ParkView Regional Medical Center on McAuley Drive and Grove Street. Mountain of Faith has since withdrawn its request.

Winfield said he anticipates the board appointing a seventh member soon.

“We’ve had a number of people volunteer, and we need to make sure they are residents of Vicksburg and to talk with them about the position,” he said.

He said Jones volunteered for the position that pays nothing.

“I’ve wanted to serve the community in some capacity, and now I have the opportunity and the time to give that my full attention,” said Jones. “I understand what it takes to be a commissioner on the board, and I have the legal background to apply the law. I think I can do it.”

A native of Jones County, Jones moved to Vicksburg in 2006 and works as a paralegal for Jackson lawyer Michael R. Brown. He has an associate degree in paralegal technology from Hinds Community College and a bachelor’s in paralegal studies from Mississippi College. He is expected to receive a master’s in higher education administration from Mississippi College in May.

In another matter, the board granted 30-day extensions to the owners of four flood-damaged homes on Williams Street in Ford Subdivision to raze them, and authorized city buildings and inspection department director Victor Gray-Lewis to demolish one other.

“These are all homes on Williams Street that floated off their foundations during the (2011 Spring) flood,” Gray-Lewis said.

Residents in the Ford Subdivision and Kings community were forced to leave their homes in early May as the Mississippi River rose to a historic 57.1 feet, 14.1 feet above flood stage, and nearly a foot above the Great Flood of 1927.

The board in August approved a resolution waiving assessing penalties for six months to property owners in the 1 percent, or flood plain area, such as the Kings community west of North Washington Street and the Warrenton Place and Cedars School areas west of U.S. 61 South, if the city razes the home.

Gray-Lewis said the waiver does not apply to people hiring a contractor or doing their own demolition.

He said the owners of homes at 123, 153, 173 and 199 Williams St. have applied for demolition permits to raze their homes. He said a demolition permit has been issued for 199 Williams St.

“Most of these families are taking down these homes themselves,” he said. “We’ll watch these properties to make sure they’re making progress. We may have to grant them more time beyond the 30 days.”

He recommended keeping the house at 114 Williams St. on the demolition list. He said a records search indicated the home’s owners had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Federal Emergency Management Agency after the 2008 flood and did not qualify for assistance after the 2011 flood.