Tag Archive for: #citizensalignedtotakebackhenderson

Demolition of Former ACTS Building Paves Way for New Green Space

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-Information courtesy the Citizens Aligned to Take Back Henderson, NC Facebook page

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The removal of this old house at 305 S. Chestnut Street in Henderson, the former ACTS location, that was owned by First Baptist Church is going to lead to what will be a beautiful green space. It will complement an area that has been so improved in recent years with the addition of McGregor Hall, the new Henderson Police Station and what will soon be the new Breckenridge Pavilion. Thank you, First Baptist Church!

A crew removes the old house at 305 S. Chestnut Street, the former ACTS location, owned by First Baptist Church. The resulting space will be utilized as a green space for the community (Photo courtesy Citizens Aligned to Take Back Henderson, NC)

The following message is from Ronald Cava, Senior Minister, First Baptist Church, Henderson, N.C.:

“The structure was a blessing to many people throughout the years. It was home to many ministers of FBC, then later was used in conjunction with the Baptist Children’s Homes of NC to temporarily house children whose families were in crisis. Untold meals and other good deeds were then served up for decades by ACTS. Unfortunately, the years took a toll on the building. The foundation and other critical aspects of the structure were compromised beyond repair. Removing the building was the right thing to do and new green space will contribute to the resurgence of downtown Henderson as a safe, beautiful, and healthy place to live, work, and worship”.

Citizens Aligned to Take Back Henderson, NC is a group founded in 2015 by Hope Hoyle Howard and fellow members Tommy Haithcock and Heidi Owen with the goal of bringing positive change to the community.

Today, over 4,000 people follow the group’s Facebook page which includes posts designed to bring attention to areas in the community that need work and to help educate the community on the positive aspects of the area.

Citizens Aligned to Take Back Henderson Wants ‘Better, Safer’ Community

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Hope Hoyle Howard, one of the original founders of Citizens Aligned to Take Back Henderson, NC, was on Tuesday’s edition of WIZS’ Town Talk program to discuss recent job developments and positive growth in Vance County.

Founded by Howard and fellow members Tommy Haithcock and Heidi Owen four years ago, the goal of the group was to bring positive change to the community.

“At first, there was some confusion with our name and questions of who we were trying to take the community back from,” said Howard. “We explain that the name represents wanting to take Henderson back to a time when everyone was proud of the community, a time when we looked out for our neighbors and did what was best for the next person.”

Tired of hearing the negative talk on Henderson’s crime rate, dilapidated buildings, unemployment and business outlook, the group started a Facebook page in 2015. Today, the page includes posts designed to bring attention to areas in the community that need work and to help educate the community on the positives of the area.

Citizens Aligned to Take Back Henderson, NC members are shown left to right: Heidi Owen, Tommy Haithcock and Hope Hoyle Howard. (Photo courtesy Hope Hoyle Howard)

“Starting off, we didn’t have that many people behind us, but we earned peoples’ trust and pushed and pushed until we were heard,” Howard said.

“It’s paid off, and we now have over 3,200 members on our Facebook page, many who are active, if not daily, weekly.”

Howard feels the concern Citizens Aligned expressed with the abandoned Howard Johnson property on Parham Road in Henderson was a huge catalyst for why the remains of the hotel were demolished. According to the group’s Facebook page, “every time an abandoned, dilapidated crime-riddled building is removed Henderson becomes a better, safer place to live.”

“We have a great backing between the City Council, the Mayor’s Office and the County,” said Howard. “The City and County have really come together to take down many of the jointly-owned [dilapidated] properties. We’ve got to get the code enforcement where it needs to be to continue this process.”

Mayor Eddie Ellington said Citizens Aligned does a good job of holding local governmental offices accountable for multiple situations. “They will bring various issues, such as dilapidated properties, to our attention or ask for follow-up on a situation. They are my friends and I know what they’re doing is for the betterment of our hometown.”

Recent postings to their Facebook page show the group is proud of job growth in Henderson, including the current construction of an Aldi on Dabney Road. The Aldi sign has been installed and the new grocery store will bring job opportunities, along with another shopping option, to area residents.

Howard points to other positives including the beginning of the cleanup and rebuilding process for the Mazatlan Mexican Restaurant that was destroyed in a fire in November, the recent addition of a “thriving” Planet Fitness and the 84-acre extension of the Henderson-Vance Industrial Park located off US-1.

Howard can tell the group’s research and inquiries have made a difference by the number of phone calls she receives from other towns complimenting Citizens Aligned and asking for suggestions. “It is the biggest compliment when someone reaches out to us to ask how we’ve accomplished what we have done here and asks how they can get started in their town.”

The first step in getting started with such a group, according to Howard, is to focus on positive change. “When we formed, we didn’t want to be just another group that points out the negatives. We wanted to find the good, and there is so much good in our city and our county.”

To hear the Town Talk interview with Hope Hoyle Howard in its entirety, please click here. Howard’s portion of the interview begins at the 14:00 mark.

Citizens Aligned to Take Back Henderson Addresses Urban Homesteading Program

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At a recent Henderson City Council Meeting the council voted to establish an Urban Homesteading Program pursuant to NCGS 160A-457.2. There is a possibility a few of the abandoned houses that are currently owned by the county/city could qualify for this program. The next step is to develop procedures and policies to ensure the program is administered fairly.

The statue reads as follows:

A city may establish a program of urban homesteading, in which residential property of little or no value is conveyed to persons who agree to rehabilitate the property and use it, for a minimum number of years, as their principal place of residence. Residential property is considered of little or no value if the cost of bringing the property into compliance with the city’s housing code exceeds sixty percent (60%) of the property’s appraised value on the county tax records. In undertaking such a program a city may:
(1) Acquire by purchase, gift or otherwise, but not eminent domain, residential property specifically for the purpose of reconveyance in the urban homesteading program or may transfer to the program residential property acquired for other purposes, including property purchased at a tax foreclosure sale.
(2) Under procedures and standards established by the city, convey residential property by private sale under G.S. 160A-267 and for nominal monetary consideration to persons who qualify as grantees.
(3) Convey property subject to conditions that:
a. Require the grantee to use the property as his or her principal place of residence for a minimum number of years,
b. Require the grantee to rehabilitate the property so that it meets or exceeds minimum code standards,
c. Require the grantee to maintain insurance on the property,
d. Set out any other specific conditions (including, but not limited to, design standards) or actions that the city may require, and
e. Provide for the termination of the grantee’s interest in the property and its reversion to the city upon the grantee’s failure to meet any condition so established.
(4) Subordinate the city’s interest in the property to any security interest granted by the grantee to a lender of funds to purchase or rehabilitate the property. (1987, c. 464, s. 8; 1997-456, s. 27.)

If you have questions regarding the program or the status of the procedures and policies development please contact:

City Manager, Frank Frazier at ffrazier@ci.henderson,nc.us or at 252-430-5701 or:

Development Services Director, Corey Williams at cwilliams@ci.henderson.nc.us or at 252-430-5725.

Budget To Remove Dilapidated Houses

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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.

City of Henderson demolishes abandoned home

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The Citizens Aligned To Take Back Henderson won a victory today as one of the 400 reported homes in the city was destroyed. The home was located at 910 West Andrews Avenue in Henderson. Heidi Owen, who is one of the instrumental leaders of Citizens Aligned To Take Back Henderson, told WIZS news, “What a huge difference taking down this one small structure makes. Imagine if the county and city can work together to remove all 400! We encourage supporters to contact our local leaders and and ask them to do the right thing for Henderson…for Vance County.”

To find out more about Citizens Aligned To Take Back Henderson be sure to like the group on Facebook, and listen to TownTalk on Tuesday at 11 a.m.