JACKSONVILLE, Ill. (WAND) — It's been more than a decade since the state closed the doors of the Jacksonville Developmental Center (JDC). Since then, the buildings have been boarded up and left abandoned on a large plot of state-owned land in the middle of Jacksonville.

Since August, there have been two large fires on the JDC campus, and Jacksonville city leaders are reaching a breaking point. They are tired of being responsible for the state-owned facility.

"It's somewhat of an unfunded mandate to the city that, 'Hey, it's our building but you're going to have to put the fire out. And if things happen, its on you,'" said Jacksonville Mayor Andy Ezard.

"I worry about my firemen. I worry about our general public getting hurt, and I just worry what's it's becoming."

Ezard said the city has five police officers on patrol at all times, and two are assigned to JDC, leaving just three for the rest of the city. He also said fighting fires on the campus causes damage to the $2 million dollar firetrucks, which have to jump curbs to get to the buildings, and run hoses across several main rounds to get water. After the most recent fire, the city plans to send a bill to the state, asking them to pay for the impact of Sunday's fire.

"They own the land and everything, I understand, but I'm frustrated by that," said Ezard. "Now they would give this to the city, but liability wise, we can't take that on. We didn't ask for it to be shut down. We didn't ask for these — I believe 13 or 14 buildings that are in disarray, that cannot be rehabbed. They need to come down. And it's pricey."

The mayor worries for the dozens of people who walk close to the buildings each day to utilize the local park. He knows some people use the buildings as temporary shelter and he's concerned the buildings could collapse on someone, or the asbestos and other dangerous material inside could damage the health of residents.

"As a mayor, I would, I'd much rather have that property cleaned up and redeveloped," said Ezard. "The frontage on Morton Avenue, our main thoroughfare through town, is untouched, untapped revenue streams for the state. There's property to the south that housing has been mentioned, especially for veterans.

The city recently announced they have applied for a Federal Brownfields Grant, which would give city leaders permission, and funding, to demolish a few of the buildings.

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