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QUINCY, ILL. -- The Quincy city council approved funds for its 'fix or flatten' program at Monday night's meeting.

The fix or flatten program renovates or demolishes unsafe properties in the community that have been neglected or abandoned.

"Its been there so long it's a detriment to the community" Dan Walker, a Quincy resident said.

Dan Walker and his wife have lived on fifth and cherry for almost three years and their living room view has always been an abandoned building. But that may not be for long.

"This is an eye sore, this is basically blight in the neighborhood and the property has been abandoned and if the city doesn't step up who will?" City Planner, Chuck Bevelheimer said.

And it looks like the city is going to have to.

"We seem to not have a shortage of problems like this every year so I'm going to say there's at least, from my experience, a dozen to fifteen properties a year we can tackle," Bevelheimer said. "There are probably more of these properties than we think."

"You know that if it continues then if nothing is done about it, it will eventually diminish the value of your property," Walker said.

The fix or flatten program is trying to erase those problems.

"The neighbors all pay property taxes and they expect the neighborhood to look nice," Bevelheimer said. "This is a problem for the neighborhood because it's dangerous and unsafe and open to the public."

Last summer the program was suspended because of budget concerns, but was quickly revived, something residents are thankful for.

"To get the neighborhood better, it's better for the neighborhood and it's certainly better for the people that's in the neighborhood," Walker said.

The city's Planning and Development department currently has 13 properties on there Fix or Flatten program list. It cost between $60,000 to $80,000 per year addressing the buildings.