Seven Springs asks Jones for help with FEMA lots
By Bonnie Edwards
Published in News on July 12, 2007 1:45 PM
SEVEN SPRINGS -- Mayor Steve Potter told the Seven Springs town commissioners during a meeting Wednesday night that he has asked U.S. Rep. Walter Jones for relief from hardships caused by the town's FEMA lots.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency bought out 10 residential lots abandoned after Hurricane Floyd blanketed the town with water in Sept. 1999. The government agency then gave the lots back to the town with stipulations they could not be developed. Allowed uses were limited to things like parks and parking lots.
Every summer since then, the town of Seven Springs has had to hire lawn maintenance people to keep the grass cut. The lots have been used only for parking during festivals and Civil War re-enactments.
It's been a hardship on the town, Potter said.
"We're getting no tax revenue from those lots, and we're having to pay for upkeep. And we're not able to develop those lots," he said.
Potter promised to follow up and keep the board updated on the progress of his request.
In other business, town commissioners voted unanimously to begin a battle on mosquitoes and repair the chemical sprayer . Meanwhile, the town will add mosquito larvae killing pellets to any standing water.
The board also discussed ways of replacing Christmas lanterns destroyed by vandals. No final decision was made, but several commissioners offered to buy replacements.