Budget To Remove Dilapidated Houses
The message “Citizens Aligned To Take Back Henderson, NC” is sending to The Henderson City Council and The Vance County Board of Commissioners is budget to remove jointly owned dilapidated houses. Concisely stated, that is exactly what the group’s three figureheads, in the persons of Tommy Haithcock, Hope Howard and Heidi Owen, have stated to our local governing bodies in the last two weeks.
They are doing it now because it’s budget time. Both the City budget and the County budget must be adopted and in effect by July 1.
Owen appeared before the commissioners this past Monday night. In preparing for her talk, Owen wrote out what she planned to say and has supplied those notes to WIZS News. In her notes she wrote, “The $25,000 in your proposed budget for demolition of the remaining 24 structures that the County jointly owns with the City is a shame and a disgrace.
“What is worse is the fact that you said this amount should help to remove most if not all of the 24 properties. With an average cost of $6,000 for removal, the total is closer to $144,000. Since the County owns approximately 57.21 percent of these properties, we believe your portion would be close to $83,000, and that is what we are asking you to budget for demolition for the upcoming fiscal year.
“And we’d ask that amount be strictly for removal of the abandoned homes, not for the properties that the County owns solely, not for vacant lot maintenance and not for the abandoned mobile homes in the county.”
Haithcock addressed the City Council about two weeks ago with the same idea in mind, get more money allocated in the upcoming fiscal year budget than what appeared in the proposed budget. He said 42.79 percent of the ownership of the jointly owned dilapidated houses belongs to the City. Using the same total estimate of about $144,000 to tear them all down, the City’s portion is about $62,000.
There seem to be a couple of reasons the Citizens Aligned group wants to get all the houses down and removed in a single fiscal period. But not all buildings were decided to be torn down, for some that didn’t show much signs of dilapidation were to be handed to some st louis roofing companies in order to remodel the houses to salvage out of them. One, this problem has been dragging on for years, more than decade. Two, it improves neighborhoods. Three, public safety. Four, improved appearance and moral here locally. Five, better appearance to employers and citizens looking at Henderson from the outside. Six, to show Henderson and Vance County are willing and able to address this and other issues.
Owen wrote in her notes before speaking to the commissioners, “It isn’t like the County doesn’t have the funds for this request. She does. And her citizens deserve this request to be granted. This big book that I have was compiled in 2004 and lists every abandoned house in the City Of Henderson. Most of these homes are still standing today…twelve years later.
“I do not know all the excuses that have been made over the past 12 years, but I hope the buck stops with you. Don’t be the group who allows these houses to sit another year. Don’t be the group who says we can’t afford it. Don’t be the group who turns their backs on the same people who voted for you.”
Howard told WIZS News, “Citizens Aligned is asking the City and County to both put their shares in their respective budgets. We are trusting our elected officials to do the right thing on behalf of all citizens of the City of Henderson and Vance County.”
Also troubling is the present effort only addresses jointly owned properties of the City and County. There are many houses and buildings that are privately owned as well as solely owned by the City or County that are dilapidated and abandoned. John Q. Public can drive around and easily add more structures to the list than would be removed from the list if all of these 24 to 28 jointly owned houses were removed in a single year.
Owen told WIZS News, “…we have specifically asked the City Council to be more stringent enforcing the current ordinances and housing standards that have been on the books for almost 50 years. We have also asked the County Commissioners’ Property Committee to put some guidelines in place for the sale of foreclosed properties. So many are being auctioned off and are still sitting as they were when purchased two years ago. They said that they were going to start giving deadlines for either tearing down and rebuilding or remodeling and making the home livable.”
Haithcock appeared on “TownTalk” on Tuesday, June 7th and the first 17 minutes of the show included his remarks. You can listen to “TownTalk” online by going to wizs.com and clicking on “TownTalk” or simply follow this link.
When a city or county creates a budget, it must account for all factors. This is only one of the issues for our City and County leaders here in Henderson-Vance, and it is only one of many lines in their respective budgets.
Henderson PD Press Release – Shooting
On June 7, 2016, at approximately 7:35 PM officers with the Henderson Police Department responded to the area of 201 Harriett Street in reference to a person who had been shot. Upon arrival, officers found Troy Person, 52, of Henderson, suffering from a gunshot wound. Vance County EMS arrived and transported Mr. Person to an area hospital where he is being treated for his injuries.
The suspect was described as a black male in his mid-teens that was wearing jogging shorts, and a black and blue shirt. The suspect left the area on foot.
The investigation is being conducted by members of the Henderson Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division. If anyone should have any information related to this case, they are encouraged to call Crime Stoppers at 252-492-1925 or the Henderson Police Department at 252-438-4141. Crime Stoppers offers a reward of up to $2,000 for information that may lead to an arrest. Callers may remain anonymous.
Authority: Chief M.W. Barrow
McGregor Hall offers opportunity to leave ‘lasting impression’
The Performing Arts Center at McGregor Hall wants you to “leave your mark and ‘Take a Seat.’”
In addition to purchasing tickets for events in the new performing arts center, patrons are being given the opportunity to leave a lasting impression by naming a seat in honor or memory of individuals, groups, businesses and organizations.
“The completion of the Performing Arts Center at McGregor Hall marks an important milestone for our region,” said Tommy Deadwyler, director of the new arts and education center located in Henderson at 201 Breckenridge Street. “We have created the Take-A-Seat campaign to provide an opportunity for area citizens and organizations to mark their place in history on this important landmark.
“Soon our new center will have brass markers on each of the 997 seats in the hall with the names of those who have demonstrated their love of the arts.”
A gift or pledge of $1,000 secures the lasting tribute, noted John Wester, chairman of the Board of Directors of the Embassy Cultural Center Foundation (ECCF).
“We started the Take-A-Seat campaign soon after our doors opened,” Wester said. “The heavy lifting has been done by some generous donors to get our beautiful new facility in operation. Start-up funding is needed now to help us secure the programming for 2016-2017 to attract patrons and meet ongoing facility needs.
“Already dozens are getting on board with Take-A-Seat to help us make this exciting new venture an immediate success. Already we have some individuals who want to remember family members with a memorial plate,” Wester added. “Businesses and civic organizations also are seeing this as a way to show their support and creating a lasting tribute for their entity.”
Wester added that the gift to the Hall is a meaningful way to mark a birthday, anniversary or holiday. Special gift acknowledgment letters are sent to persons who are specified.
Among those who have shown their support is George M. Harvin of Henderson, who has “taken” several seats.
“I want to remember my family and I want to show appreciation to the community,” Harvin said. “Those are the basic reasons, but this is also a fun thing. This is a really positive accomplishment for our town and I certainly want it to succeed.
“There’s the obvious fact that it is renovating and revitalizing downtown,” he added. “It’s also a show of pride in the community. That’s the biggest thing.”
“McGregor Hall belongs to all of the communities surrounding its central location in Henderson,” added Deadwyler. “We are seeing support grow from beyond Vance County’s borders to bring in friends from Granville, Franklin and Warren counties as well as Mecklenburg County, Virginia, and beyond.
“Contributions to McGregor Hall’s ‘Take-A-Seat’ campaign are welcomed from all individuals and organizations who will be enjoying the events our new theater is able to offer,” Deadwyler said.
“At every event, donors will have the pleasure of knowing their generosity has made it possible for someone else to experience the unique joy of entertainment, understanding and self-discovery that comes only with the performing arts available to our communities.”
For those who wish to make installments to make the contribution, the donation can be spread over four payments within the scope of a year. Credit card payments are accepted.
A brochure is available from McGregor Hall with more details on the project, and additional information and a pledge form are available on the web at www.mcgregorhall.org. Forms and payment information should be mailed to the Embassy Cultural Center Foundation, the Performing Arts Center at McGregor Hall, P.O. Box 1333, Henderson, NC 27536.
Questions can be directed to Tommy Deadwyler at (252) 598-0662 or info@mcgregorhall.org or James Edwards, ECCF board treasurer, at (252) 213-8221 or jamesdedwards@gmail.com.