In an effort to beautify the township, Brookfield officials plan to continue demolishing abandoned and condemned houses.

Continuing the push that began a year ago, trustees on Monday approved plans to condemn the property at 154 Davis St., formerly known as the Royal Palace bar.

"Insecure, unsafe and structurally defective," are the words Fire Chief Keith Barrett used to classify the old building.

The property was condemned eight years ago by the Trumbull County Health Department, Barrett said.

The owner, who now lives in a retirement home in Sharon, planned to remodel the place at one time but his building permit expired. The bar is now overgrown with brush and its roof is caved in.

In addition to Royal Palace, trustees condemned several other eyesores on Davis, Bowman, Kings Grave and Lucy streets with similar problems.

"Those buildings have to be removed from the respective properties," Barrett said, adding they can be burned with minimal cost.

He said the township doesn't relish destroying abandoned properties.

"We would rather they fix the places and keep the property," he said. "If the building is there, there's taxes (for the township.)"

Before officials can condemn a property, title checks must be performed to make sure no liens exist. If there are liens on the property, then lien holders must be notified 30 days prior to demolition. So far two homes have been burned and a third will be soon, Barrett said.

In two weeks, township officials will be in court for a hearing on one of the structures. They've also received permission to burn down a home on Bedford Road this spring.

Before then, there are a half a dozen others looking to get tagged.

After a year of demolition Barrett says, "We're still working on it."