Fremont deeds property to group
By Joey Pitchford
Published in News on September 21, 2016 9:57 AM
The Fremont Board of Aldermen formally handed over a property lot to non-profit organization Renewal Place at their meeting Tuesday evening, the latest in a series of steps to allow the organization to build additional housing for low-income people in the town.
In adopting resolution number 19, the board executed a quickclaim deed for the property at 920 S. Goldsboro St. to Renewal Place, transferring ownership of the property away from the town. The town had declared the property surplus after receiving it from Wayne County in 2012, and decided that giving it to Renewal Place would "be consistent with and in furtherance of the town of Fremont's efforts to improve and add to the availability of affordable housing for low income families," according to the ordinance.
The lot is one of four that Renewal Place plans to build homes one. The group, with the help of the Fremont fire department, burned down an abandoned building located at 411 Sycamore St., on Thursday in order to make room for a new, safer dwelling. The low-income homes will be trailers.
The board also further discussed the garbage can fines that they began discussing at their last meeting. This time the conversation was not about if there will be fines, but rather how much they will be and how often they will be applied. The board had differing opinions on how much to fine people who repeatedly leave their trash cans on the side of the road past the pick up day, or who overfill or improperly position their cans. Alderman Leon Mooring advocated for a lenient fee, saying that people in Fremont already have enough trouble paying bills, but Alderwoman Joyce Artis said that too lenient a fee would be ignored by the more stubborn offenders who make up the real problem.
Matthew Drummond, who drives the garbage truck for the town, said that he has been placing informational cards on offending cans, to make sure people understand the ordinances, to mixed success. While offenses had gone down from over 80 people to around 60, others simply tore the stickers off and pushed their cans back to the street after Drummond had moved them, he said.
The board agreed that certain allowances would need to be made for people who go on vacation, but seemed confident that, given proper communication, reasonable accommodations could be met in the right situations. Mayor Darron Flowers instructed town administrator Barbara Aycock to begin drafting a fee, which the board will hear and consider at their next meeting in October.