Town Resident Voices Concerns over Run Down Property

Long time resident Carl Eggleston addressed Council during the public participation portion of the regular meeting of the Farmville Town Council on July 8. He voiced his concerns over the condition of a piece of property located across from his own on Hylawn Avenue. The home in question, unsightly and in poor condition, belongs to an absentee owner who is in the process of tearing it down. Mr. Eggleston had spoken to Council prior to the July meeting with many of the same concerns that he once again brought up to Council. The property was an eyesore in an otherwise well-kept neighborhood. According to Mr. Eggleston, there was an old toilet sitting on the front porch. Overall, the house devalued the neighborhood. Additionally, it was unsafe in its current condition, potentially causing harm to anybody that might be curious enough to explore the property. Council, in an effort to help the owner of the run-down property, offered to allow a new residence to be built in place of the old, as long as the new residence had the same “footprint” as the existing. Town Manager Gerry Spates reassured Mr. Eggleston that “…the house was coming down,” in addition to other work that was being done to clean up the mess on the lot. Mr. Spates offered to call the homeowners again to find out the work schedule.

Jennifer Cox, of Longwood University, gave council a brief report on the upcoming year. First year students will begin arriving on August 20. Classes begin August 24.

President of the Experimental Aircraft Association, Morgan Dunnavant, also spoke to the Council about an interesting project that some very fortunate students at Fuqua School will have the opportunity to participate in during the 2015-16 school year. The EAA and Fuqua School will be teaming up with students to build an airplane. The project will positively impact the Science, Math and Technologies Departments at Fuqua. Mr. Dunnavant was accepting donations to help offset the considerable cost of the project.

The Town Council is currently developing a set of guidelines to use as standard operating procedure at Newman Airfield. Part of the SOP will be a clear and concise set of rules to use as a “Tie-Down Policy” for planes parked on the tarmac. The Tie-Down Policy will help to secure planes during bad weather in hopes of reducing storm damage to planes and other property.

A couple of Council members and the Town Manager went to Lynchburg recently for the express purpose of inspecting the Lynchburg Dog Park. Members found several ideas there that could possibly be incorporated into the Farmville Dog Park. Several things at the Lynchburg Park, such as a holding pen to help acclimate dogs to the environment, and a drop box for holding incident reports, to name a couple, would help to make the experience a good one for all dogs and owners that would use the new Farmville Dog Park.