Three residents of Cat Creek Ridge Estates came to the Franklin Town Council meeting Monday night asking for something to be done about one of the homes in the neighborhood.
The neighbors described drug activity, shooting, piles of debris, raw sewage inside and outside the house, and one said the odor was so bad he had to put tape around his bedroom window to try to keep the smell out.
“I, along with many other residents of Cat Creek Ridge community, are suffering the health, social, and economic impacts of the structure, deterioration, and drug activities of the property located at 7 Cat Creek Estates,” said Kristi Worrel.
She said the owner has done nothing to bring the property into compliance following a meeting in August 2024. “The property remains in the same dilapidated state. Since that time, the drug and criminal activity has continued, while squatters frequent the property, leaving behind human feces, drug paraphernalia, and trash inside and outside the dwelling. The cost for law enforcement being on site on a regular basis for reports of criminal behavior has an economic impact on this city.
Worrel said there has been a break-in in the community, trespassing on private property and vermin infestation.
“This dwelling is a danger and serves only as an attraction to adverse activity, threatening the health and safety of this community and its residents,” Worrel said, adding that it diminishes their property values.
Another neighbor, Danielle Thompson, said the power company had pulled the meter from the house, and there is no water and electricity to the house, yet people were still staying there.
She said she had been in the house when the owner was still living there and that squatters had locked the bathroom. “I can attest to this because of the odor. They had used the toilet and not flushed it, so you had raw sewage in the toilet,” she said, adding that squatters were also using the bathroom outside. She said she also saw hypodermic needles scattered around inside and outside the house.
Thompson also reported food was left to rot on the porch, attracting skunks, cats and dogs. She said the house has not been secured – there are broken out windows that were boarded up and then the boards were removed, and she sees people coming and going through the front door.
The owner no longer lives on the property. Thompson said she frequently calls the sheriff’s office to report “seeing people over there that should not be or exhibiting questionable behavior.” She said one evening people were there shooting in the backyard until it got dark.
“I was actually in fear of leaving my house,” she said. Thompson said her mother owned the house where she lives and had bought it because she felt safe there. “She was very happy because it was close to town, close to the hospital. She is elderly. I work nights. She will not stay at that house because she is in fear of her safety.”
She said her house was broken into. “We have not had any break-ins, to my understanding in talking to the neighbors, until this time.”
Thompson said she has not seen the property owner make any attempt to repair the property or bring it up to code. “It affects the property value. We do not feel safe. It is a public nuisance,” she said. “It has clearly been a drug house, or for a lack of a better word, a trap house. I would strongly encourage you all to please address this because this is not something that we want as neighbors or that the town needs.”
Tom Que said he has lived in his house across the street for 25 years. He said there has been issues with “gunplay” and that one day they started a fire then left. “I’ve called the sheriff. I’ve called the police. They’ve come out. They’ve arrested.”
He also referenced the odor from the property. “I had to put duct tape on the sides of my sliding glass window because the smell was so bad. My problem is I sleep in that room.”
Property ownership
According to Macon County Register of Deeds, Derald and Crystal Queen acquired the one-acre property in December 2007 (at no cost). The previous owners had owned the property since 1972.
The house is valued at $49,040 and the property at $40,000 for a total of $89,040. The 2024 taxes due on the property are $3,736.21, which includes $3,313.47 in back taxes. According to the county’s tax records, the last tax payment was made in April 2017 for the 2014, 2015 and 2016 taxes.
The town’s response
The town’s code enforcement office opened a case on the property on Aug. 8, 2024, as the house does not meet the Minimum Housing Code. The house was inspected on Aug. 12 along with a warrant served and a notice of violation sent. On Aug. 26, a Minimum Housing hearing was held with five neighbor complainants attending, but the owner did not attend. A letter notifying the owner that he had 75 days to bring the property into compliance was sent on Aug. 27. The case was sent to town attorney John Henning for review on Nov. 12.
Monday night’s agenda included a vote to move forward with the condemnation order for the property.
“I’m very sympathetic to what the neighbors of this property have been going through. Clearly it is a nuisance,” Henning said Monday night. “None of us would want to live next to a house that has this going on in it.”
The attorney said in situations like this you “work hard to try to get voluntary compliance” and that Code Enforcement Officer Angela Green has been working hard on the issue. He said at one point the owner said they planned to sell the house or fix it, but that has not happened.
“We are limited by how much we can do by law, and in part that’s because our laws protect private property rights” he said. “There are a lot of things you have to do to take away someone’s property rights.”
Henning said the town is not at the point where it can condemn the house. “What we are looking at doing is enforcement through the Minimum Housing Code.”
When the code enforcement officer first inspected the house, she noted it as “deteriorated,” meaning it could possibly be restored for less than 50% of the value of the house.
Henning said if that is the case, the town could find someone to fix it and the cost would be entered as a lien against the property.
“In that circumstance, you can’t just go in with bulldozers,” Henning said.
Monday night, Green said since the inspection in August the condition of the house “could have changed drastically” and might now be “dilapidated,” meaning it would cost more than 50% of the value to repair it. In that case, the town could have the house torn down.
Regarding the owed taxes, Henning said the county would have to initiate the foreclosure process on the property.
Knowing all those processes take time, Vice Mayor Stacy Guffey and Council Member Rita Salain asked how long it would be before they could get some relief for the neighbors.
Henning said once the ordinance was approved, the code enforcement officer can post that no one can be on the property.
It was also suggested that Green do another inspection of the house. The town can also board up the doors and windows and clean up the debris in the yard.
There was a discussion about the responsibility of enforcing that the property be vacated. The property falls within the town’s extraterritorial jurisdiction, but law enforcement would lie with the Sheriff’s Office rather than the Franklin Police Department. Police Chief Devin Holland said he would talk with the Sheriff’s Office.
The Town Council unanimously approved the ordinance to order that the property be vacated and closed. Look for more coverage from the May 5 Town Council meeting in next week’s edition of The Franklin Press.