SPRING HOPE — After more than a year of a slow-rolling cleanup by the owner of a collapsed downtown building, town commissioners are ready to seize the property.

“I don’t believe a word that comes out of his mouth,” Commissioner Brent Cone said of John Clark, who has stalled numerous attempts to fix the crumbling wall of his dilapidated Main Street building.

Clark — who was on the property Saturday, tearing down portions of the wall with an excavator — has repeatedly claimed paperwork snafus delayed his efforts to refurbish the building.

The old downtown theater collapsed in early November 2020, sending debris onto neighboring buildings. Bubbles & Bows Pet Salon, Cherish’D Crown Natural Hair Care and Faith Christian Ministries’ clothing resale store have been closed since the collapse. Two of the three businesses have already relocated, one outside the town.

While the three businesses haven’t been able to reopen at the location, Clark has performed woodworking in his building with use of a generator.

Clark lost a code enforcement appeal in early December, so commissioners gave him an ultimatum: Take action within 30 days or the town would take the property.

During commissioners’ Jan. 10 meeting, Ruth Emory, who contracts with the town for code enforcement, said Clark hadn’t done anything significant to mitigate the situation.

The building doesn’t meet minimum standards, its condition is worsening and it could completely collapse soon, Emory said.

Commissioners considered foreclosing the property at 205 W. Main St. and placing a lien on it, but that would mean the town might not recoup demolition expenses when the property is sold to the highest bidder on the courthouse steps.

The board instead determined to seize the property outright.

Commissioners instructed Town Attorney Mark Edwards to prepare the paperwork and said they wouldn’t wait until February’s regularly scheduled board meeting. Instead, commissioners plan to call a special meeting as soon as possible to vote on seizing the property.

The warehouse was part of the former F.D. Bissette and Sons hardware store. Clark purchased the property with plans to restore the building and turn it into an artisan center.