The City of Cedartown got started shortly before 9 a.m. Wednesday morning clearing away two structures that had been condemned and declared nuisance properties by a court.

First to go was the former Faith Temple Church of Jesus Christ Inc., located at 926 Davenport St. The roof had fallen in and the wooden structure had collapsed at some point in the past.

The city was given authority to demolish the property, by court order, in February 2007. It wasn't clear why it took so long to get around to actually clearing the property, which only took about an hour with a bulldozer.

New Cedartown City Manager Charles Akridge, who started work earlier this month, said clearing out nuisance properties is going to be a renewed focus for the city.

Next up, to be cleared later today if weather permits, is an burned-out shell of a house at 120 Jackson St. The house is located at the dead end of Jackson Street, to the north and behind the Georgia Power Company office in Cedartown.

The house was heavily damaged in a fire in 2004. The city filed a nuisance abatement petition in February 2008, noting that no efforts had been made to restore, renovate or repair the house in any way since the fire.

The Cedartown Municipal Court found that the house was so badly damaged as to be virtually unrepairable. The court order stated that "any repair, alteration or improvement of the structure to bring it in full compliance with applicable codes cannot be made at a reasonable cost in relation to the present value of the structure."

The house is to be bulldozed down sometime after 11 a.m. today, weather permitting, city crews said.