Town to condemn house on East Main

The Town of Franklin has started the process to condemn a house on East Main Street that is in violation of town ordinances and does not meet the town’s minimum housing standards.

Code Enforcement Officer Frank Belanger has been monitoring the property at 981 East Main Street since October 2022. At the August Town Council meeting, Belanger presented a report documenting his efforts to contact the owner and to work with them to clean up the property. The house is owned by John Duncan, who inherited the house from his aunt, Pearl Mashburn.

In October, Dr. Ann Shower sent a letter to the town stating her concerns with the property, which is located next to her veterinary office, Animal House. Shower also attended the March Town Council meeting to ask the town to do something about the house. She said people live in the house but hide in the woods if the police come and that needles and syringes are found around the property. She was concerned about the safety of her staff.

Belanger mailed the first code violation notice on Oct. 3. Belanger and Duncan met on Oct. 13, and on Nov. 1, Duncan reported to the town that he had a crew cleaning the property. Belanger visited the property and saw some of the trash and debris had been removed from the front of the property, but there had been no effort to clean any of the property around or behind the garage or house. A mobile sawmill that was operating on the property has been removed.

Belanger reported he made visits to the site in December and January and there was no further progress. A second violation notice was mailed to Duncan on Feb. 1. On March 1, Belanger sent a notice of a public hearing on March 24. The hearing was rescheduled for March 31 at Duncan’s request.

On March 6, Duncan responded that the home and property had been damaged by homeless people, but he intended to clean up the property and bring it into compliance. On March 24, Duncan’s nephew told Belanger the family planned to board up the house to prevent any future activity or occupation of the house, and that the family wished to rebuild the home. Belanger informed him that “enough time has passed in which there needs to be a clear intent, plans and execution made.”

On April 7, the veterinary clinic next door reported the board and ‘no trespassing’ sign that had been put across the back entrance of the house was on the ground. On April 10, Belanger went to the house and found a person covered by a blanket on a cot inside the house. Franklin Police Chief Devin Holland said FPD officers and Macon County Sheriff’s Deputies continue to check the property, and they have found and removed vagrants from the house.

That same day, the determination from the public hearing was mailed to Duncan. The notice stated: “you will have 90 days to demolish and remove, or restore the dwelling from the current dilapidated state, bringing it into compliance with the Town of Franklin Minimum Housing Standards Code.”

Belanger visited the site twice in July, but no work was being done. At the August Town Council meeting, attorney John Henning presented the procedure for property demolition. The town must adopt an ordinance that states the property is unfit for human habitation and give notice that the owner must demolish the property in a certain amount of time. The ordinance will be filed in the Register of Deeds office under the owner’s name.

If the owner does not demolish the house and the property is not brought into compliance during that time, then the council can direct Town Planner Justin Setser to have the house demolished. The town’s cost for the demolition would be a lien against the property that the owner would need to repay or if the property ever sells, the town would be reimbursed the cost of the demolition.

At the August Town Council meeting, Mayor Jack Horton and Council Member Stacy Guffey said they would contact the owner. At the Sept. 5 council meeting, Horton said he had been told demolition would begin Sept. 1, but there had not been any work done.

Henning said, “a reasonable amount of time has passed” and the next step is to adopt the required ordinance.

A public hearing on the ordinance to condemn the property will be held at the Oct. 2 Town Council meeting. The council meets at 6 p.m. in the board room on the lower level of Town Hall. As part of the motion to set the public hearing, Council Member Joe Collins also asked that Setser and Belanger relook at a Wilkie Street property the town has discussed in the past regarding code violations.

Rezoning request

The Town Council will hold a public hearing on the request to rezone a piece of property at 311 Golf View Dr. from R1 (residential) to Neighborhood Mixed Use. David Forkner applied for the rezoning on behalf of KAVOD Communities, LLC. At the August Franklin Planning Board meeting, Forkner said they planned to use the 10.28-acre property to build a school/gym/after-school program. The public hearing will be held during the Town Council meeting on Monday, Oct. 2.

Contract approvals

During the Sept. 5 meeting, the Town Council approved a $317,875 contract with DanGrady Company LLC for sidewalk reconditioning and repairs. Town Manager Amie Owens said they did not get three bids when they initially advertised in June. After readvertising, they got two bids. She said there was a significant difference in the pricing. The other bid was from Bryson Enterprises for $566,232.50.
American Rescue Plan Act funds will be used to pay for the project, which includes work on part of Maple Street, Phillips Street and Harrison Avenue. Owens said the sidewalk on Phillips Street will address some of the safety concerns with students walking to and from the high school. The construction schedule is for 240 days.

The council also approved a $283,018.39 contract with Bryson Enterprises LLC for upgrades to the wastewater pump station, known as “Boyd’s pump station.” Owens said this project also did not receive three bids when initially advertised in June and only one bid was received when it was readvertised.

The project will be paid for from the water/sewer funds and the construction schedule is for 240 days.

Street closures

The council approved closing the left lane on Main Street from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Oct. 7 for the WNC Pharoahs Car Club Show to benefit Night to Shine.

Town manager salary increase

Following a closed session for the town manager’s performance review, the council voted to increase Owens’s salary by 15% to $97,750.