By John Howell

Batesville aldermen meeting Tuesday tabled a decision on the request from the owner of Meadowview Apartments to overturn a Batesville Planning Commission directive about paint color.

Clarence W. Chapman, President of Meadowview Apartments’ owner Chartre Consulting, Ltd. of Oxford, in a letter Mayor Jerry Autrey, requested that the present white exterior color be accepted.

Jerry Seratt of Century Construction had met with the Planning Commission during their October 26 meeting, apologized for having painted the buildings without having sought the color’s approval from commissioners.

“It completely slipped my mind,” Seratt told Commissioners Willie King, Bill Burnett, Vic Wardlaw, Terry Townsend, Barbara Bruce and Judy Savage, who attended the October 26 meeting.

Commissioners voted unanimously to request the owner to “submit new colors in the earth tone palate for consideration by the Site and Building Design Committee prior to repainting the buildings.”

Chartre built 24 apartments at Meadowview in 1997 and in 2013 “obtained funds to extensively rehabilitate and modernize ($965,000 total rehab cost) the apartments and office,” Chapman’s letter states.

As the rehab neared completion, “local management pointed out the problems they were having with the red brick exteriors giving an aged appearance,” Chapman states, “… and also the problems of cleaning off graffiti from the unpainted bricks.”

The Chartre Consulting president said that another $18,000 was spent to paint the buildings white.

“We (had) no idea that painting the exterior brick required an additional permit,” he continued.

In other business related to the planning commission and city board:

• Commissioners at their Nov. 23 meeting, approved a variance request from Batesville Rehab owner Niles Norris to be allowed to place a LED digital message center monument sign at the new business location at 171 Lakewood Drive. The variance request will be forwarded to the Mayor and Aldermen for a public hearing;

• Next door to Batesville Rehab, commissioners approved site and building design standards for renovation and addition at 127 Lakewood Drive that will convert the old C Spire building into Collier Dental Clinic. Edye Conkerton presented the plans for the building changes;

• Site and building design standards were also approved for Captain D’s building at 304 Highway 6 East. Paint and awning improvements and a new tower will be added to the structure, according to LaRhonda Weatherspoon, who made the request on behalf of the restaurant;

• Commissioners also approved site and building design standards for two 84-foot storage silos at MMC, 449 Highway 51 North. Manager Charles VanNamen told commissioners the silos would be used to store fly ash, a component of concrete mix.

Commissioner Dave Billingsley also requested that MMC consider building a fence around the property “in keeping with the recent improvements made throughout the city,” planning commission minutes state. 

VanNamen said that he would pass along Billingsley’s request to MMC management;

• Panola Plaza received approval for the addition of a cupola and eagle weathervane as part of a renovation project now under way at the shopping center at Highway 6 and Bates Street. Batesville Code Administrator Pam Comer, who serves as planning commission secretary, made the request on behalf of shopping center owner Jimmy Eubanks.