Fremont condemns more houses - Wayne-Wilson News Leader, Fremont, NC

20 September 2007 — The view from downtown may soon be improved in Fremont, as the town began its second round of housing condemnations at their monthly meeting on Tuesday night.

For the second round, Town Manager Kerry McDuffie said the town had originally put five properties on the list for condemnation. One house was pulled from the list because the owner was already in the process of having the house burned by the fire department.

Two additional homes, after being condemned in July, have since been torn down and removed by their owners, leaving two structures for the town to deal with at their September meeting.

The first of the homes is located at 103 E. Ward Street. This structure poses a unique challenge because, though it is quite dilapidated, the building inspector said he could not condemn the structure. The house is a cinderblock building with concrete floors, which means that it is structurally sound and will remain so for a long time.

However, the roof is caving in. In addition, the house has been broken into several times. Meanwhile, the owners have neglected to act on the condemnation of the house.

The owners, Mr. and Mrs. Jimmy McLean of Dudley, were present at a hearing in July about the houses condemnation. They told the board they would take care of the problems, but have not acted. The owners also owe the board an estimated $600 for mowing the lawn on the property several times this year and last year.

Mr. McDuffie recommended that the board approve an ordinance for the town to board up the house and pay to repair the roof. The owners would then have to pay the town for the cost of repairs; if they did not do so, the town could sell the house at auction to recover the money spent on repairs.

Alderman Leon Mooring asked how long the town would give Mr. and Mrs. McLean to repay the town before they could sell the property. Mr. McDuffie said he didn't know off of the top of his head, but he thought it would be somewhere around 90 days after the repairs were completed.

Alderman Harold Cuddington said he simply couldn't understand why the town would spend money on the property.

"Why are we going to do it?" he said. "And where is the money coming from?"

Money to aid in structure removal or repair was included in this years budget, a line item around $20,000.

He said he felt that before the town took any action, they needed to see a few estimates on the cost for repairing the roof.

Mayor Devone Jones said he felt the town needed to go ahead and take action.

"If we don't go ahead, it's just going to be sitting there rotting, and we'll have to cut the grass," he said.

Mr. McDuffie said that there may be some way to seize the property for auction based on the amount of money owed for grass cutting. However, he said he didn't necessarily think that it was the nicest thing to do.

But the aldermen though it might be their best option. They asked Mr. McDuffie to pursue that avenue.

The second property at 402 Sycamore Street was quicker to deal with. This structure, located at the corner of Sycamore and Branch Streets, was also condemned this summer. The owner, Kay Wooten, was present at a condemnation hearing and told the town he wished to repair the structure. He was given 10 days to receive estimates and report back to the board. Mr. McDuffie said the board has still not heard from him, and no work has been done to the building.

He said that the building inspector recommends demolition, because the cost of repairing the structure would be higher than demolishing the building and starting over.

Alderman Mooring moved to follow the recommendation, and Alderman Smith seconded the motion. But Alderman Leroy Ruffin had reservations.

"What's the difference in saying you might lose money on the other house, won't you lose money here too?" he asked. "There's no difference."

Mr. McDuffie said that Mr. Wooten did not owe any money to the town, which was one difference.

The board voted, with all but Mr. Ruffin approving demolition.

"I don't like the way we handled that," he said.

The board also discussed a structure remaining from the first round of condemnation, a home at 407 Sycamore Street owned by Isaac Ryals. Mr. Ryals had begun the process to have the home burned by the fire department, but asbestos was found in the structure. He has not yet removed the asbestos, but told Mr. McDuffie it would be out by the end of this week. Then a second asbestos inspection could be performed and the process could continue.

"Whenever we are in a situation that the homeowner can take care of it and we don't have to get involved, I'm all for it," Mr. McDuffie said. "But the question is, how long are we going to give them? We could have had this taken care of back in March."

The board voted unanimously to proceed with demolition if Mr. Ryals does not have the asbestos removed by Friday.