Some problem properties across the county are making progress while others are headed to court.
Members of the Carter County Planning Commission heard an update on properties with code violations from Planning Director Chris Scheuttler and Codes Enforcement Officer Chris Pierce.
During his report to the commission, Pierce said he had investigated several new complaints on properties in the county for a variety of things such as untagged vehicles, excess garbage and overgrowth. He said he has sent letters to all of the property owners and has been able to speak with some of them in person about the code violations found.
Progress has been made in cleaning up some problem properties in the county, Pierce said. Even some of the new complaints, he said, already were being addressed by the property owners.
The Commission will meet again next week, and Pierce said he plans to have a presentation ready on all of the properties he has worked with this year regarding the complaints and progress made in resolving the codes violations.
Planning Commission Chairman Jerry Pearman asked Scheuttler for an update on the “Highway 400” property that has been addressed by the Planning Office and the commission on multiple occasions.
“I am still working on that one,” Scheuttler said. “I have spoke with (County Attorney Joshua) Hardin about it, and we are preparing it for court.”
The property in question is a road-front parcel on Highway 400 near the intersection with Snowbird Lane. The Planning Commission has discussed it numerous times. Scheuttler and Pierce have spoken with the owner about issues at the property, but no progress had been made in correcting several code violations found at the property, Scheuttler said.
During the commission’s July meeting, members voted unanimously to give Scheuttler permission to work with the county attorney to proceed with legal action against the property owner.
On Tuesday, Scheuttler said he and Hardin are preparing the case for court but it is not ready for filing at this time.
“We do have five cases that are going to court,” Scheuttler said. “They should be served this month.”
Scheuttler said he hoped to get all the cases on the docket for the same day to minimize the time he would have to spend in court.
In other business, Planning Commission member Ken Arney updated his fellow commissioners on the progress of a traffic light being installed at the intersection of Highway 19E and Highway 321. “The lights are hanging covered now,” he said. “They should be in operation in January.”
Construction is also in progress to extend the turning lane from Highway 19E to Hampton High School, but Arney said progress has been affected by the weather.