Vernon Street Closure Paused Amid Dispute; Other Topics Discussed
By: Grace Smith – Wise News Network
CHERRYVILLE, NC (WNN) – The public hearing regarding the closure of a section of Vernon Street did not occur during a city council meeting on March 11, 2024. Other topics were also discussed.
Citizens to be Heard; $1000 Check for Maintaining Cherry Trees
During the city council meeting, Sid Stroupe, a Cherryville resident, approached the podium to provide an update on his cherry tree project.
Stroupe was integral in an initiative to plant cherry trees around the area. John Talbert funded the project. His donation was a gift to his wife, who wanted more cherry trees around Cherryville.
Talbert is pleased with the planted trees and has pledged additional funds for more trees and upkeep. He donated a $1000 check to go towards future maintenance of the trees, which would be considered a charitable donation tax write-off for him.
Per the advice of the city’s auditor, City Manager Brian Dalton advised the city council not to accept this check.ย
“Our auditor is looking into it and at this point [they] are not in favor of us accepting it the way it is,” said Dalton.ย
He relayed that the auditor disagrees with accepting the donation because of the tax write-off.
“The way I see it is that this $1000 is for a service not for a product and that it is not necessarily a tax write-off. And the problem I think also is that it is not being designated to be used right now,” said Dalton.
The auditor does not favor the city council holding on to the funds without concrete plans or bids to use the donation.
Council member Gary Freeman expressed confusion regarding the hesitation because the city accepts donations frequently. However, with other donations to the city they intended to use the funds within a specific timeframe.
The conversation was put on hold until March’s work session, which will occur on Tuesday, March 26, 2024.
Vernon Street Closure
The Muller family, residents of Cherryville, approached the city council, asking that they close a section of Vernon Street. They stated that the section runs through their property.
The city council arranged a public hearing for the proposed closure that was supposed to begin on Monday, March 11, 2024. However, the city council did not enter into the public hearing at the advice of Yansea Taylor, the city attorney.
The hearing was avoided because the residents who requested the road closure and another in the area are engaged in a legal dispute over the ownership of that road section.
“We have received two different legal opinions from their council; as to the question of ownership for this tract of land. The city council and mayor are not in the position nor do they have the authority to make those determinations,” said Taylor.ย
She recommended that the two parties involved should resolve the matters amongst themselves before bringing it back to the city council.
This is a developing story; WNN will report more details as they emerge.
Budget Amendments
During the meeting, the city council approved two different budget amendments. The first amendment was to approve a grant of $810,000 to renovate city hall.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded the grant to make city hall ADA compliant. Dalton stated that the front entrance to city hall is currently not ADA-compliant.
With these funds the city hall will have its entrance renovated, making it easily accessible to all. Additionally, Dalton said they hope to install an elevator as well. The city council unanimously accepted this agreement.
The other budget amendment regards a pending water and sewer project. The city received a $1.6 million grant to rectify various water and sewage issues around the city. Senator Ted Alexander was instrumental in securing this grant for Cherryville.
The money will go towards repairing water pumps, sewer projects and constructing another oxidation ditch.
An oxidation ditch is a method of treating wastewater that involves bacteria breaking down waste. The water goes into a large container where the bacteria help process and filter out any unwanted materials.
This amendment was also unanimously approved.ย
Despite a relatively short city council meeting, many projects are on Cherryville’s horizon this month. Between securing grants and discussing potential plans for cherry tree maintenance, the city council will be busy.ย
To hear more from the city council about upcoming plans, tune into March’s work session on Tuesday, March 26, 2024.
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