Dan Michael Patterson, Spencer, NC
♦Since 1991, I have been sending pictures of poor conditions around Spencer to the Town Manager/Board of Aldermen. I submitted many photos again a month ago that depicted the condition of the streets and sidewalks in Spencer. I have included photos today taken today of some of the same locations and street conditions. One photo is of the perfectly groomed Library Park and one of debris that washes up onto the grass along 4th. St. each time we have a heavy rain. I brought this to the attention of the town/town manager (Larry Smith) for a very long time. When this high water condition exists my renters cannot get out of their vehicles nor can the folks attending the church. Some of the photos show sidewalks that are not safely passable. The other photos show streets in front of my properties that my pickup will not pass without scraping the bed topper. Another photo is of a location just off 7th. Street that my topper touches and also my 13.5 foot tall RV cannot pass. These issues are brought up to the town EVERY year. Other sidewalks along 3rd. Street are impassable now and are each year. All these issues are repeat offenders and need addressing NOW. Again I send photos this spring as well as just a month ago. The Library Park & Salisbury Avenue have been groomed four times since my letter a month ago.
Areas belonging to the town should be handled/groomed the same as is expected of the taxpayers. The town gives public offenders ten days to fix problems and tomorrow is August 20th. Ten business days from now if all these areas are not groomed I will take out a full page ad in another local paper and will post many photos along with the names, email addresses and contact information of all town officials who have done nothing to remedy these problems. Instead of continuing to pass new ordinances, how about embracing and enforcing the existing ones. I would strongly suggest the town manager redirect all mowing operations of the library park and allow these men to be used on this effort.
Thanks,
Dan Michael Patterson
**Dan: We’re informed by a number of Spencer residents the quickest and most efficient way to get results is to take your experiences directly to Spencer’s Code Enforcement Officer. One resident told us: “The complaint to Town Hall will result in some Round-up being sprayed on sidewalk cracks. But the perennial oversized vehicle issue requires no attention by the Town, per the legal opinion of the town’s attorney.”
And thank your lucky stars that you don’t reside in the People’s Republic of Salisbury where the local grass and weeds look like the set of “Ramar of the Jungle.”
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