Greenville Town Council came together for their monthly meeting on Monday, July 13, at 6 p.m. in City Hall. After approval of the minutes, Bob Powell of James Moore and Co. approached the podium and presented the town's audit report for 2013-2014. Except for some minor changes which need to be made, Powell raved of the town's advancement. “Things have much improved,” stated Powell. “There are always things we could get better at, but compared to what we have had in the past, we've made a lot of progress.” Areas in need of improvement included a better disaster relief program; Powell suggested modeling the county's plan; and stricter budgeting. After the audit report, the council approved the renewal of the DEP-issued permit for the wastewater treatment plant, which must be mandatorily renewed every five years. It must be submitted by August 13 and will cost the town $6,530 in expenses. The next item of business included the discussion of the disposal of the Lew property, which has remained a burden to the town for many months. The Town of Greenville had previously sent multiple notices to abate nuisance to the abandoned property owners with no response. The last notice sent (in May) was received and property owner, Alan Lew, traveled to Greenville in order to address the council at the June 8 meeting. Lew requested a five day extension in order for him to have a full thirty days from the meeting, on.
Secondly, he requested the town allow him the opportunity to sell the property within the thirty days if an interested buyer was found or if a contractor was interested in fixing the damage. “I would rather get a commitment from you tonight that you will have that building out of there by July 8; I've seen the damage, you haven't-- the structure is beyond repair,” said Town Manager Tim Day. After much discussion and weighing all options, the town council unanimously voted to allow Alan Lew until July 8 to have the structure removed, adding if Lew failed to follow orders, the council would direct the town attorney to pursue legal action in court. At the July 13 meeting, Day announced that Lew had donated the property to the town. He informed the board they had the option to accept the property, have the town demolish the building and then proceed to sell the property, or follow through with the vote from the previous meeting and proceed with legal action. The council unanimously voted to accept the donation, have Public Works demolish the building and sell the land. Afterward, Council proceeded to approve a CDBG RFP Administrative Services committee. The committee will begin looking at applications for a grant administrator. The committee will include Town Manager Tim Day, Town Clerk Kim Reams and local realtor, Roy Scott. Next, it was announced that Town Attorney, Christine Thurman is resigning, with her last day set for August 31.
The council approved the resignation and voted to advertise for the position. Day mentioned his hopes to proceed with the annexation of local properties into Greenville's city limits and his wish to find an attorney with experience in this area, as well as one with municipal law experience. Next, Public Works Supervisor J.C. Fead announced there has been little change involving the criminal activity at Haffye Hays Park-- especially near the public restroom facilities. On the matter, Day informed the board of several quotes he had received for park fencing, with the most feasible option an offer to fence the entire park for $23,500. The fence would include three gates, with one large enough to allow the entrance of a vehicle. Another option Day mentioned was to only fence in the bathroom area, prohibiting entry after hours. He added that Sheriff Stewart seeks to press criminal charges against the perpetrators and not just issue trespassing violations. According to Day, Stewart and his department assert they will continue to crack down on criminal activities at Haffye Hays. Lastly, Town Manager Day informed the council of the new library's progress, stating that it will be a few more weeks before all work is complete and the building is open to the public. In addition, he mentioned the possibility of installing an ATM at City Hall, which would attract visitors and allow the Town of Greenville a way to advertise public events, meetings and job openings.