ROCKINGHAM — City leaders on Tuesday voted to buy one piece of property and demolish another.
Assistant City Manager John Massey told council members that Norman Bland has offered to sell a 2-acre parcel on Byrd Drive, adjacent to the city’s wastewater treatment plant, for its current tax value of $4,400.
The wooded property borders parcels near the cul-de-sac of Farmstead Court, according to a map provided in the agenda packet.
Massey said the city has acquired most of the properties near the facility over the years to create a buffer.
City Manager Monty Crump said there are only two properties in the area that the city does not yet own.
Prior to that vote, the council approved a demolition ordinance for a dilapidated dwelling at 1102 Allen Street.
Photographs of the property show an overgrown yard and holes in the roof, ceiling and floor of the house.
Massey said minimum housing proceedings began in January with the owner, Rosa Lee Norman, and other “parties of interest” being notified of a hearing with the code enforcement officer.
The property owners were directed to either repair or demolish the home by April 30, however, Massey said, no action has been taken.
He also said that the property owner had said they would remove a vagrant who had been staying at the house, but added that it is believed he has returned.
