Park’s status remains under review cont... Continued from page 1


Amanda Cummings asked the zon- ing board during Monday’s (Sept. 13) hearing. Woodfin Town Administrator Ja-


son Young said the ultimate decision on the park’s, as well as its residents’, fate will likely come from the Bun- combe County Superior Court. Park owner Joshua Robinson said


he has spent more than $30,000 re- pairing the park since taking over in March 2009 and will continue in his efforts to “make it one of the best parks in Woodfin.” “I’m going above and beyond what


most mobile park owners do,” he said. “I will continue to fight this.”


The history Te aldermen voted to nullify the


park’s status in June after receiving reports about straight piping of raw sewage from one home, cooking on outdoor fires, as well as other town code violations, including junked cars, instances of homes being with-


out potable water and the placement of two homes on the property’s 10.5 acres tract without the proper zoning compliance permit. Mobile home parks in Woodfin are


only granted pre-existing, non-con- firming use status if they are annexed into the town. Te aldermen voted to annex C‘N’C, or Ponder Mobile Home Park, located on Old Marshall Highway, in 2003. Te park has been in existence for


about 30 years, and some residents, such as Mark Meadows, have lived there for several decades. In 2007 while original owner


Leonard Ponder was still in posses- sion of the park, the town issued an initial notice of violations. An addi- tional notice was sent in 2009, shortly after Ponder passed away. Robinson, who is married to Cyn-


thia Ponder, Leonard’s daughter, said there were some issues with the estate but he eventually took over the park in March 2009. At that time, he said town officials


Biscuits • Hot Dogs • Fountain Sodas • Beer • Wine


walked through the park with him, and the owners signed a memoran- dum of understanding with the town to abate all violations within 30 days. Tose violations included cleaning


up garbage, installing a dumpster for the residents’ use, fixing the skirting on some of the homes and acquiring the necessary zoning and privilege permits. James Eller, the town’s code en-


forcement officer, said despite prom- ises from the owner, the issues per- sisted. “Over time, it became apparent


we were being strung along,” he said. “Tere was no real satisfaction with the issues.” Robinson admitted the park was


in a deteriorated state when he took over and has had its share of negligent tenants. However, he said he has evicted


several former residents and is in the process of evicting three more for fail- ing to comply with town codes. “Anyone I catch not complying will


be evicted immediately,” he said. He said he is also on the site most


days of the week working to clean it up, and most residents at the park are good, responsible tenants. “Tere are good people here. It is


Check out our new wine selection! Hours: 6 am - 10:30 pm daily


286 North Main St. • 645.5859


FAMILY VACATIONS THAN YOU DO FOR COLLEGE?


DO YOU PREPARE MORE FOR


Having fun with your family is important. But nothing is more vital than your child’s future. That’s why at Edward Jones, we can help you put together a strategy to save for college.


Using our education funding tool, we can estimate future expenses at more than 3,000 schools and then recom- mend a financial strategy based on your unique needs. True, vacations are great. But graduation ceremonies are even better.


For a free, personalized college cost report, call or visit today.


Bill Boughton, AAMS® Financial Advisor


.


61 Weaver Boulevard Weaverville, NC 28787 828-645-0341


www.edwardjones.com Member SIPC


The set of pictures on the right are the same home from November 2007 (above) and September 2010 (below), depicting similar amounts of outside clutter. James Eller, Woodfin’s code enforcement officer, said the scene is similar to other problem areas at the park that continue to exist since the town first notified the owners of code violations in November 2007. Park owner Joshua Robinson said the resident is an elderly woman who suffers from hoarding, an excessive compulsion to collect things without discarding, and they are working with her. The set of pictures on the left show an outbuilding at the park with trash (above) that has appears to have been cleaned up (below). Robinson said he has cleared several trailers of garbage from the park recently.


28 THE TRIBUNE/LEADER - September 16 - September 22, 2010 www.weavervilletribune.com Progress or no progress?


a nice, clean, safe park,” he said. “In 30 years, this park has never looked this good.” When town officials were called


to inspect a home allegedly dump- ing raw sewage into a nearby ditch in June, they brought the matter before the aldermen who moved forward


with their decision.


Two sides of the tale Robinson said the home in question


was in the process of being hooked up to a sewage tank, and there was never any raw sewage. He added the home and tenant are no longer at the park. Eller said two Woodfin police offi-


cers accompanied him and witnessed the sewage. It is just one issue of dispute be-


tween the two sides. Robinson said he was led to believe


the town would enforce fines on ten- ants failing to meet codes, although Young said the responsibility falls on the owner. Robinson said he did not hear from


the town from March 2009 until re- ceiving a letter notifying him of the aldermen’s decision this summer. Eller said he re-inspected the park


earlier this year during a drive-thru lasting roughly two minutes. “How can you properly inspect in


two minutes?” board member Steven Santangelo asked town officials. Eller said it was abundantly clear


that the same issues plaguing the park three years ago were the same ones facing them today. Several park residents in atten-


dance at the meeting said the park was improving. “How can they say nothing has


been done?” Tommy Shelton asked. Shelton has lived there for four years and said the park is in its best shape since he had been living there. Cummings recently fixed up her


home that she purchased from Cheri Ponder, Cynthia’s sister, earlier this year. She said she has noticed the work that is being done. She believed the aldermen were


rash with their decision. “It takes time. It takes money,” she


said about making progress at the park. Robinson, who said he is a retired


NASA engineer, added he is learn- ing on the job and believed he could have been offered more help from the town. “I think you misled me. I think you


took advantage of me,” he told Young and Eller. As a new resident to the park, Cum-


mings felt she was left in the dark. “As someone who lived in there,


I would like to have known some- thing,” she said. Several zoning board members ex-


pressed concern for the residents. “I have sympathy for the folks who


live there,” member Sherry Campbell said. Young said the town has worked


with the owners and allowed time for the problems to be remedied. But, he said the number of code violations town officials continue to uncover at the park and the danger they pose is why the matter was turned over to town attorneys in 2009 and why he felt the aldermen moved ahead with the decision to revoke the park’s sta- tus in June. “It would appear we have been


promised a great deal more coopera- tion then we have received,” he said.


8# Bag of Ice


$.99


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28