BIDDEFORD — On Tuesday, the city council voted against a contract to expand a park near the city center.

The extension of Williams Court Park was to be built on property formerly owned by Rory Holland, who gained notoriety in 2009, when he shot and killed two brothers in front of his 58 South St. home.

The shootings sparked the focus of attention on that area of the city, an area which over the years had transformed from a stable, working-class neighborhood to one that had more transient residents.

Some of the more depressed apartment buildings in the neighborhood were purchased by the city with federal funds and torn down. The properties were transformed into the Williams Court Park.

The existing park is located on Williams Court, the street where one of the slain brothers, Gage Greene, 19, had lived. It’s where he and his brother Derek Greene, 21, who was also murdered on June 30, 2009, were heading when they were killed.

The city foreclosed on Holland’s property for unpaid property taxes in 2013; Holland is serving two life sentences for the murders at the Maine State Prison in Warren.

When Holland’s house was torn down in April 2013, Mayor Alan Casavant said that action helped provide closure for the Greene brothers’ family and the neighborhood.

“The house became a symbol of evil,” he said. “To have it torn down allows for a resurrection of sorts.”

Shaw Brothers conducted the demolition at a cost of $22,000, which was paid for from proceeds of the sale of Emery School in 2011 for $360,000.

Councilor Michael Ready, who voted against a contract to construct the park extension at 56 and 58 South St. ”“ a project that was to have been paid for with federal funds ”“ said on Tuesday, “I don’t think we need another park.”

With the reduction of public works and recreation staffing, the city doesn’t have the staff to maintain its existing parks, he said.

“I want to keep it on the tax roll,” said Ready.

With the rejection of the contract and the park extension, city staff will hold discussions on what to do with the property and bring a recommendation to the city council in the future.

— Staff Writer Dina Mendros can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 324 or [email protected].