By Jeremy Weldon

The Batesville Code Enforcement Office updated the Mayor and Board of Aldermen on the condition of several problem properties in the city limits as a regular meeting of the council members last week.

Code office officer Andy Berryhill asked the board to set a hearing for property at 34 Dogwood Lane due to the ongoing problem of tall grass. The house is vacant and Berryhill said a hearing held by the board to officially declare the address in violation of a city ordinance is the only option left for dealing with the nuisance property.

“It’s a nice house, nice neighborhood, but it’s an out-of-town property owner. We have sent letters and left voicemails and got no response,” Berryhill said. “They just have trouble keeping their grass cut.”

If arrangements for grass cutting are not made before the hearing, set for ????, the city will clean the property and assess all related costs to the tax rolls.

The board also set a hearing for the property at 225 Perkins Lane, which will also be cleaned by the city and billed to the owner’s taxes.

Alderman Stan Harrison again brought up the property at 124 Panola Ave., commonly known as the Hasseltine Property. The owners asked, and received, additional time to improve the structure there in a January meeting, but little has been done to make improvements since that time.

Code office administrator Pam Comer said her office has taken no action since the January meeting other than writing letters and communicating by phone with the management company that oversees the property for the mortgage holder.

The condition of the house is the concern of the Code Office at the address, and Comer said she is unsure if the city wants to tackle a renovation project to improve the appearance. “This is more on the maintenance side,” she told aldermen. “I don’t think the city is going to pay somebody to go down there and scrape it and paint it.”

Aldermen agreed with the assessment, and told Comer the Code Office should issue a ticket to the property owners of record for violation of the city’s maintenance code. Then the matter becomes a court issue and will force the owners to make the needed repairs of be punished with fines by a court.

Several properties in a state of disrepair on Fisher St. were also discussed. Comer said several letters have been sent to the owners, but no response has been received. “Those are Coulter properties,” she said.

Alderman Stan Harrison asked about the progress of the demolition of a burned house on Tubbs Rd. was told a relative of the property owner is slowly completing the clean-up. The demolition permit issued by the city earlier this year is good for two years, Comer said.

Damaged Bathroom
In other business, the board heard from Police Chief Jimmy McCloud that a group who used the Batesville Municipal Courtroom for a meeting left an extreme mess in the bathroom. “A cleanup crew had to go in there and do a job nobody wants to do,” he said.

“The point is there needs to be some accountability to these groups that are using these city buildings to take care of them, and if they abuse it to take the privilege away from the. If you had seen what we saw you wouldn’t let anybody back in that building.”

Water Service Granted
Public Works Director David Karr asked the board for permission to bore under Hwy. 35 N. to provide a water line from the city’s main line on the north side of the road to a new house under construction on the south side. The city often provides water service to customers outside the incorporated limits provided the property owners agree to pay for the line tap, new meter, and cost of providing a new water line.

Aldermen gave their approval with the understanding the homeowner will pay the approximate $2,100 cost of the boring and new line. Karr said application must be first made with the Mississippi Department of Transportation to perform the work.

Compress Rd. Accepted
The board also voted unanimously to accept the short road named Compress Road off Hwy. 35 S. from Kenneth Brassell, who owns the road and much of the surrounding land. The road was long thought to be a city property, but officials learned last year during a paving study that the road is actually private property.

Aldermen agreed the city should maintain the road because of approximately 25 jobs in several small businesses on the road. A bevy of legal work is needed for the final transfer, including easements and surveys. The board is expected to add the road to the current paving list once those hurdles are cleared.

Patton Lane Park
The board also approved two dates for community activities at Patton Lake Park. Alderman Bobby Walton made the request on behalf of ???? and the Finch-Henry Job Corp Center. ??? plans a July 14 event from 3 to 7 p.m. where free haircuts and school supplies will be offered to neighborhood children along with a football camp.

The Job Corps is also planning to offer free haircuts and give away school supplies on Aug. 3 beginning at noon.