Clean sweep for Fremont - Wayne-Wilson News Leader, Fremont, NC

18 October 2007 — As fall-like weather appeared for the first time this week, the board of aldermen in Fremont focused on a little fall clean-up. The board addressed several issues to improve the appearance of the town at their October meeting Tuesday night.

The meeting began with a public hearing on an ordinance regarding mobile homes in the city limits.

Town Manager Kerry McDuffie explained that a proposed amendment to the ordinance would not allow mobile homes older than eight years to be brought in and placed on a lot in town.

No member of the town commented on the ordinance, and the board approved the amendment in a 5-1 vote. Alderman Billy Harvey voted against the amendment.

The town also continued the discussion on a housing condemnation from last month.

While examining a property at 103 Ward Street, the building inspector said that the house could not be condemned because it was a cinderblock building, and was structurally sound. However, the roof had substantial damage, and the structure posed a potential hazard.

At last months meeting, it had been recommended that the town pay to repair the roof and board up the windows to the home. They would then sell the home at auction.

However, some of the board members felt it wasteful to spend the money to repair the roof on the structure. So the board abstained from voting to allow Mr. McDuffie to gather more information.

This month, he informed the town that he sought the opinion of Brian Pridgen of Rose Rand Attorneys. Mr. Pridgen recommended the town board up and secure the house but not fix the roof.

Mr. McDuffie said that it would then take the town about six months to sell the property at auction to recover expenses for securing the house and mowing the lawn.

He recommended that the town approve this course of action.

"We've got to secure the house, because if someone gets hurt, the Town of Fremont would not be in a good legal position," he said.

Alderman Leroy Ruffin asked why the town wasn't going to go ahead and fix the roof. Mr. McDuffie said it was the recommendation of the attorney because of the cost of repairing the roof. However, he said he did not get any quotes on what that exact cost would be.

Mr. Harvey said that he had contacted the owners of the structure, and they told him that they planned on securing the structure, but he did not know if they had done so yet. Mayor Devone Jones then recommended that the board give the owners until Friday to board up the house, and if they did not follow through, then the town could go ahead and begin.

The board voted to do as such in a 5-1 vote with Mr. Ruffin opposing.

In other business, Friends of the Fremont Library Chairman Steve Knotts addressed the town board on the progress of the library renovations. He made two specific requests of the town during his presentation.

First of all, he requested that the town overturn a previous vote they held to move Ballance Mini-Park to the lot beside the library.

He said that librarians were concerned that kids would be running in and out of the facility, disrupting patrons of the library. He also noted that the library board was concerned about liability issues and children left unattended.

He also requested that the town approve landscaping plans for the lot, which would turn it into a reading park. Local scouts have already volunteered to build a gazebo in the area.

The board voted to accept the recommendations of the library board.

Mayor Devone Jones expressed excitement about all the work the group had done in generating support for the library in the community. He said the best thing he saw the group doing is bringing the people of the town together.

"This brought all the people together, and that's the best thing to me," he said. "I'm proud of the people of Fremont."

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