ROCKINGHAM — Three houses in one area of East Rockingham are slated to come down.
The Richmond County Board of Commissioners last week approved orders for demolition and removal of properties at 160 Safie Fifth St., 180 Safie Sixth St., and 259 Safie Second St.
All three houses are “unfit for human habitation” in accordance with the county code, the ordinances state.
Photos included in the agenda packet appear to show the houses in complete disrepair.
The first house listed burned in August of 2023, and the complaint process started earlier this year, according to County Planner Tracy Parris.
The second house not only has fire damage, but has a tree that has fallen through it. The process on that house started in October of 2023, Parris said. The third house burned in March of this year, according to Parris.
In some cases throughout the county, houses that are approved for demolition are used by local fire departments for training burns.
However, according to Parris, that won’t be an option in these cases.
“They will be torn down and properly cleared,” Parris told the RO in an email on Nov. 22. “Unfortunately, those properties are burned so severely that the fire department would not be able to use (them) with their training exercises.”
OPIOID ALLOCATION
Earlier in the meeting, commissioners approved increasing the funding for the Richmond County Jail’s substance abuse program by more than $10,000.
Funding for the program comes from the county’s allocation of various opioid settlements.
Commissioners had approved a previous request of $41,215.97 at the meeting in May. The amended amount is now $52,615.97.
Click here to read about the initial allocation.
Thressa Smith, interim Social Services director, said the amount was being amended to cover the costs of behavioral health services, which will be required by law.
Commissioner Andy Grooms hinted at what will eventually become yet another unfunded mandate from the state government.
“So luckily, we’ve got 16 years of a settlement to support this before the county then has to,” Grooms said.
PAVING PROJECT
The board awarded a bid to Barnhill Construction for the prepaving of the parking lot at the Health and Human Services Complex on Caroline Street.
County Manager Bryan Land said the project will involve renovating the entire parking lot, both in front and behind the building that houses the Health Department, Department of Social Services and the N.C. Cooperative Extension.
All the existing asphalt will be removed, the lot will be regraded and repaved, Land said. The concrete driveways will also be replaced.
Barnhill had the low bid at $551,020 — more than $123,000 less than the bid submitted by Fred Smith Company.
The project will be funded through the county’s Medicaid escrow account, Land said. Paving is expected to start sometime before Christmas and last about two weeks. However, Land added that the project could be delayed depending on the weather.
Land joked that it was a “retirement present” for outgoing Health Director Cheryl Speight.
“She’s been wanting it for quite some time now, we just haven’t been able to find a way to get it done.”
Commissioners also approved the extension of the 2025 tax listing period to April 15, as well as a resolution to allow for electronic listing of personal property for tax purposes.
