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Conway still has plenty of vacant land city property owners can lease as long as they agree to maintain it.

About three years after Conway created a land-lease program to help manage its previously flooded properties, only eight of its 75 properties have been leased.

The city created the land-lease program to relieve its employees of the hours of work it takes to maintain the properties.

Some of the properties are large and cutting the grass is time consuming for the grounds and maintenance department staff, said city spokesperson June Wood.

鈥淭he [program] allows them to focus on other areas of the city,鈥� she said, adding it takes 80 to 100 hours every two weeks for the department鈥檚 four employees to maintain the grass and overgrowth.

鈥淚t also allows the close neighbors to use it as a garden, though they can鈥檛 erect structures,鈥� Wood said.

The city has acquired 75 properties throughout the years 鈥� as far back as Hurricane Floyd in 1999 鈥� and gained even more after flooding from Hurricane Florence in 2018.

Two properties were recently approved by Conway City Council to be leased by Kevin and Mary Tovornik, who live on Busbee Street. The Tovorniks have leased a city-owned property on Busbee Street and Long Avenue.

鈥淚 have to do mine, so might as well just mow those two,鈥� said Kevin Tovornik.

The couple, whose home has flooded three times after hurricanes, have elevated their house nine feet and installed an elevator.

The hope for the program is that the city鈥檚 acquisition of the vacant properties will rid areas where water could get into homes, Wood said.

All of the properties have all flooded at some point and can鈥檛 be developed, she added.

鈥淢any of the [properties] have had structures on them in the past: homes, businesses. So part of this program is to reduce that floodplain development so that floodwaters can be held where they naturally flow to,鈥� she said.

Many of the properties are located on the northside of Conway off Long Avenue and behind Trinity United Methodist Church. Other properties are scattered across the city, with some on the southside off Fourth Avenue.

In order to lease the properties, a Conway landowner's parcel must be close to or contingent to the Conway property.

There is no fee property owners have to pay the city to lease these properties. However, a lessee is required to maintain the property, without erecting any structures, and the city has the right to give a 60-day notice if it needs to.

Kevin Tovornik鈥檚 plans are to 鈥減retty it up a little bit鈥� and level out some of the bumps from previous demolition.

鈥淚t鈥檚 just to make it as attractive as possible. It鈥檒l be a nice looking corner there at some point in time,鈥� he said.

To contact the city about the program, call 843-248-1760.

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• From staff reports info@myhorrynews.com