A stop work order issued by the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality has prevented further work on the South Street Apartments, delaying plans for completing renovations, and contributing to its unsightly appearance, the owner of the apartment complex and the Crawford Street Apartments about a block away said Monday.

Holly Springs lawyer Kent Smith, who bought the buildings in the summer, discussed the South Street Apartments’ condition with the Board of Mayor and Aldermen Monday.

His appearance was in response to a notice from the city that the property’s condition was in violation of Vicksburg’s ordinance requiring property owners to keep their property cut, clean, and clear of trash and debris. The notice was prompted by complaints from residents about the property and an investigation by the city.

South Street was one of a list of 10 properties on the board’s agenda to be cleaned and cleared because their conditions violated the ordinance. It was cited for overgrown grass and weeds, brush protruding through a chain link fence and blocking a sidewalk, and rubbish and debris cluttering outside the fence surrounding the building.

Smith was not the only person to address the apartments.

Some South Street residents commented on the property, resulting in the board directing Community Development Director Victor Gray-Lewis to schedule a meeting between Smith and the South Street residents to discuss the apartment building’s future.

Smith told the board he was in the process of cleaning the property and repairing the fence, which was damaged when a car ran through it.

He said he had been cleaning the building out when he was told by Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality officials to stop work after a complaint had been filed by someone in the area.

“We were just trying to clean up the damage that had been done because of vagrants, vandals, whatever, who had gone in, started a fire, tried to seek shelter, tried to harvest copper pipes and copper wiring,” he said, adding he had hired a consultant to help him resolve the problems with DEQ.

He said his plans for the Crawford and South Street apartments “are to have both of them restored and put them back into service,” but did not elaborate on his plans.

“Hopefully this fall, everything will get to moving,” he said. “I didn’t buy it to hunt on, ride a four-wheeler on, I bought it to make some money. Unfortunately for me, I’ve got a lot of money tied up in this, and I can’t do anything except pay interest and lose time because of my problem with the Department of Environmental Quality.”

But Mark Jones, who owns a home in the South Street area, said he wanted more information on Smith’s plans for the property.

“There might be a little cleanup going on there, but unfortunately no one’s asked the question, ‘what’re they going to do?’” Jones said. “This property has been, continues to be, and I bet you a year from now will also continue to be a blight and shame on the City of Vicksburg, and we need to do something about it.

“The city had the opportunity to tear it down last year and did not do it, and where we are today, it’s in a worse situation than we were a year ago, and a worse situation than we were two years ago,” he said. “We’re continuously going through the same cycle.”

Jones said the residents have been asking city officials to do something about the property, “and all we get are excuses. We would like to see something done about this property sooner and not later.”

North Ward Aldermen Michael Mayfield said the city delayed action because the property’s ownership passed to Smith, and the city had to give him an opportunity to do something with property. He assured Jones he and Gray-Lewis would watch Smith to make sure he followed the city codes.

Mayfield, however, said he agreed with Jones that the city needs a better ideal of Smith’s intentions.

“We need an action plan on what he’s going to do,” Mayfield said.

The center of complaints by residents in the South Street and Crawford Street areas for the past two years, the Crawford Street Apartments, 1111 Crawford St., were condemned by the city in 2011, and the South Street Apartments, also known as the Triple Six Apartments, 1201 South Street were condemned in 2012.

While they were empty, both apartments were home to vagrants passing through the city looking for a place to stay or get out of the weather. The city placed both of the complexes under its slum clearance ordinance. They escaped demolition when Smith bought them.