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1213 Daisy St. exterior.

Exterior 1213 Daisy St.

Interior 1213 Daisy St.

Interior 1213 Daisy St.

Exterior 1226 Daisy St.

Interior 1226 Daisy St.

Interior 1226 Daisy St.

Exterior of 1226 Daisy St.

NATCHEZ — Commander Lee Best of the Natchez Police Department, who is in charge of code enforcement for the city, led a public hearing on two dilapidated properties before the Natchez Mayor and Board of Aldermen meeting on Tuesday night.

After the public hearing, aldermen voted to demolish one of those properties — 1213 Daisy St.

Best, who has been in his job for six months, thanked the aldermen and city officials for their patience and for answering questions as he became acquainted with his job.

Best worked for the Adams County Sheriff’s Office before accepting the commander’s position in the city’s police department.

Best explained in detail the state laws, the city’s procedure, and the timeline involved with dealing with nuisance property. He said his department has handled more than 100 properties this year, but the process from start to finish takes time and detailed documentation.

Best said he had spoken with Dan Vicks Jr. about the property at 1213 Daisy St., which originally belonged to Dan and Bessie Lee Vicks, both deceased.

Bessie Lee Vicks died at 83 on May 7, 2008. Mrs. Vicks worked at the Clarke Theatre and later the Natchez Trace Theatre in Natchez. She was a member of New Zion No. 1 Baptist Church. She served on the mother’s board and occasionally had prayer meetings at her residence, according to her obituary in The Natchez Democrat. She was survived by two sons — Dan Vicks Jr. and Kenny Vicks. Kenny Vicks died in July 2024 at the age of 58.

“The owner said he inherited the property from his parents and cannot afford to upkeep it, and he has not paid the taxes on the property. It is to go to public auction this year,” Best said.

Best said he executed an administrative search warrant signed by a judge, entered the property to assess its condition, and documented that condition with photographs.

The second property involved 1226 Daisy St., owned by James Turner.

“We followed the same procedure with that property,” Best told aldermen. “Mr. Turner reached out to Alderperson Valencia Hall and said he would be coming in for a permit to have the structure demolished themselves and asked for 30 more days to do that.”

After the meeting, Best said Turner’s brothers are coming into town this week to get started on the process.

Aldermen approved moving forward with the demolition of 1213 Daisy St., but held off on 1226 Daisy at Turner’s request.

Best explained that the city will bear the cost of the demolition, but the cost will be added to the property’s tax bill, and if the property is ever sold, the city will recoup those funds.

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