ROCKINGHAM — City Council members voted Tuesday to purchase a piece of property on Byrd Drive near the wastewater treatment plant.
The 4.1 acre parcel is only one of two pieces of property on the road that the city doesn’t already own, City Planner and Assistant City Manager John Massey told the council.
The city has been buying up neighboring properties over the last 35-40 years as they have become available with the goal of closing the road off to the public since it leads to the plant, he added.
The property, at 110 Byrd Drive, is the site of the former New Life Tabernacle Church. He said it hasn’t been used as a church “for many years” and “has fallen into a state of disrepair.”
Massey said the property owner has agreed to sell the property to the city for $7,500 and the city will remove the dilapidated building.
“That will allow us to close off Byrd Drive,” he said.
The only other property has no clear title, Massey added. “We’ve tried to find it several times through the years and the title is screwed up.”
He said he doesn’t know if that property could ever be utilized because of the issues with the title.
The vote was unanimous.
