Although the Washington City Council spent lots of time working on and adopting the new budget in recent weeks, the council took care of other business.

During its May 23 meeting, the council adopted an ordinance condemning the house at 331 W. Seventh Street as unsafe because it does not meet minimum standards of maintenance, sanitation and safety. The council awarded a $6,400 contract to Dudley Landscaping to demolish the house. Other bids were received, a $14,900 bid from Taylor’s Hauling & Grading and an $11,500 bid from Armstrong Inc.

After the building is demolished, the city will sell usable materials from the building. Any expenses incurred by the city related to demolishing the building will be a lien against the property on which the building sat, according to a city document.

The city uses building codes, minimum housing codes and the city’s demolition-by-neglect ordinance to keep historically and/or architecturally significant properties from deteriorating to the point they cannot be saved by rehabilitation measures.

In other business, the council authorized the city’s Police and Fire Services to apply for up to a $2,500 grant from Wal-Mart. The grant, if awarded, would be used to take children Christmas shopping with city police and fire personnel. The program designed to improve relationships between the community’s youth and its police and fire personnel.

Also, the council approved a $96,640 purchase order to B.E. Singleton & Sons for equipment purchases related to stormwater drainage improvements in the city. During its planning retreat in April, the council listed continued drainage improvements as one of the city’s top priorities.

The council approved a $20,000 purchase order for Booth & Associates to perform the engineering work for the Grimesland Road electric distribution project. Booth will manage the bidding process for the project, with those bids expected later this year. The project is among several the city is undertaking to improve its electrical distribution system.