Weldon will have to spend $13,600 more than originally planned to have lead paint removed from the Dickens Hux Awning building, Code Enforcement Officer Richard Brown told town commissioners tonight.
The building was set to be demolished because it is beyond repair. The original estimate was $3,900, however, because the building has lead paint which must be removed first it will cost $17,500.
The building is condemned, the bricks are deteriorating and the roof has fallen in, Brown told the board.
“It’s been an eyesore for a long time,” Mayor Julia Meacham said. “I feel like we need to add the $13,600 to get rid of it.”
Meacham said the town is trying to promote Weldon. “That sets a poor example,” she said of the building on Second Street. “We have to invest in the town before others invest.”
The mayor said the town has the money but former Mayor Johnny Draper asked from the audience where the money was.
“The money is in the budget,” Meacham responded.
Walter Clarke made the motion to approve the appropriation and Martha Alford cast the second.
Following the meeting Draper said the money was not in the line item.
Meacham countered the money was in the general fund, coming from a salary which is no longer paid late part time Town Administrator Neal Phillips and from money left by the unfilled position of the former town clerk who retired.
“It’s an eyesore to the town,” she said.
In another matter tonight, police Chief Mark Macon requested a traffic study to put a stop sign at Prince Street to encourage normal traffic flow along Woodruff Street.
Macon requested the study, which the board approved, after town resident Gary Danek spoke to the panel.
Macon said he wanted to observe traffic patterns and record the number of crashes there before making a decision.
“I think that’s a waste of the town’s money,” said Danek. “I can’t see why there would be a discussion of a survey. If the signs are placed improperly why not place them properly?”
Macon told the board, “The signs have been there for 11 years. We need to take the path of least resistance. You should do what I ask.”
