City has “deed in hand” for Wiggins’ property 

By Katherine R. Dougan

After nearly four years of litigation between the City and the owner of 110/112 Leake Street property in Clinton, the City on September 3, 2020, announced it has the deed for the property in hand.

See: Supreme Court Denies Final Motion in Historic Preservation Case – Rehabilitation to Move Forward

All that remains to be done is for the City to advertise for RFPs, or Requests for Proposals, explained the City’s Director of Communications Mark Jones.

“The RFP must be advertised in The Clarion-Ledger classifieds on September 7 and September 14. We will open RFPs on October 7,” Jones confirmed on September 4.

The City initiated proceedings against property owner Matthew Wiggins in order to preserve the historic integrity of Olde Towne, while providing additional space for retail opportunities in the historic core of Clinton, Mayor Phil Fisher stated.

Wiggins, a former Clinton resident who is now a resident and member of the Water Association Board of Kemah, Texas, owns multiple properties in the Olde Towne area. However, the properties at 110/112 Leake Street are of historical significance because the northeast corner of Jefferson and Leake Streets is the former location of Chilton’s store, where the assassination of pioneering black Clintonian Senator Charles Caldwell occurred on December 27, 1875. This site is one of the well-documented places in Clinton history.

The City argued that Wiggins failed to maintain his property, was demolishing the building by neglect, and failed to make required repairs to the property in keeping with the City’s Historic Preservation ordinance.

The Mississippi Supreme Court ruled in the City’s favor in August, and Attorney Kelly Simpkins and City Attorney William Purdie contacted Wiggins’ attorneys to make arrangements for the exchange of $95,000 to Wiggins and the transfer of the deed to the City.

“The goal is to get the property off the City’s hands as soon as possible,” Fisher stated.