Homewood City public safety committee approves request regarding fire‑damaged Park At Buckingham apartments

The Homewood City Public Safety Committee voted 4–2 on April 15 to approve a committee action concerning a fire‑damaged apartment building at the Park At Buckingham, the committee chair announced after the vote.

Chief Building Inspector Mister Pute told the committee the property — recorded in the meeting materials as '10121416 and 18 Aspen Cove' at the Park At Buckingham — is a single building with multiple groupings of apartments that has been abandoned in places, partially gutted and is in deteriorating condition following one or more fires. "It's been sitting like this for a long time," Mister Pute said, and he added the owner has communicated they are "ready to do something, but there's a lot of things in their way."

The chair asked whether the site was secured; Mister Pute said it was "fenced but poorly," with sections of temporary construction fencing knocked down and easily moved, and cautioned that other apartments at the complex remain occupied. "Some of the fencing is knocked down... if someone really wanted to, they could pick it up and sort of drag it out of the way and slide in," he said.

After the inspector's briefing the committee moved to take action on the agenda item (listed in the meeting record as '04/24'). Councilor Nelms is recorded as making the motion; the transcript does not record who seconded it. The chair asked whether anyone present wished to speak for or against the item; no one came forward. The chair then announced, "The motion is approved 4 2 0." The committee did not record individual member votes in the transcript; the tally alone was announced.

The meeting record does not specify next procedural steps or the precise legal effect of the approved request. The chair closed the item and adjourned the public safety committee.

(Items and quotations above are drawn from the committee's April 15, 2024 meeting transcript; the transcript lists the property address string as '10121416 and 18 Aspen Cove' and identifies the inspector only as "Mister Pute.")