A Jackson company has been hired by the City of Vicksburg to remove asbestos from the condemned Oak Street Apartments at 2427 Oak St.

The Board of Mayor and Aldermen Tuesday approved a $9,550 contract with Anderson Environmental Services Inc. to remove 6,480 square feet of asbestos floor tile and adhesive from the 12 apartments in the two-story building. The floor tile was the only asbestos material in the building, Community Development Director Victor Gray-Lewis said.

The building has been condemned and marked for demolition by the city. Under Environmental Protection Agency regulations, the building must be cleaned of all asbestos materials before it can be razed.

Built in 1969, the two-story building near the intersection of Oak and Speed Streets was condemned Oct. 14 after city utility department employees pulled the complex’s water and gas meters because owner Alan Osborne had not paid the utility bills.

The apartments were placed under the city’s slum clearance ordinance after neither Osborne nor a representative for him appeared at a Dec. 12 hearing to discuss the building and plans to repair it. The building was then placed on the city’s demolition list.

Gray-Lewis said the city will take the building down once Anderson Environmental removes the tiles and adhesive. The cost of razing the building is estimated at $18,500.

The city has two ways to try and recover the cost of demolition, by either placing a lien on the property or moving under the slum ordinance. Gray-Lewis said in April a lien on the property would total $23,186, which includes a 25 percent penalty and fees.

Under the city’s slum clearance ordinance city officials can sell the property and recover all or some of the demolition costs.