Residents lodge nuisance complaints

Jun. 8—LENOIR — Several members of the community attended the Lenoir City Council meeting on Tuesday, June 7 to lodge complaints about a nuisance neighbor.

The residence in question is located on Pennton Avenue in Lenoir. According to the surrounding neighbors, the people who reside in this house have been causing problems for years.

The first individual to speak was Larry Smith. Smith has grown and sold Christmas trees in Lenoir for 42 years.

Smith said the surrounding residents and their children are scared to go outside and play in their own yards.

"It's really bad when kids cannot go in the backyard and play because of the smell, the flies, the cussing, the drug addicts peering at their children," said Smith.

Tommy Nelson, lives with his sister in a house directly in front of the residence on Pennton Avenue.

"We found that house and it seemed like a nice place," Nelson said. "But through the years, problems have been created over and over again. In the wintertime, they're burning the fences and anything else they can use ... I've looked over the fence before and seen toilet paper sitting out there. There's a dog out there who's been there since we moved in. There's a stinking smell all the time."

Megan Burchette next spoke. Burchette was the caregiver for an elderly woman who lived on Pennton Avenue until her passing.

"This house has been a nuisance for many, many years," Burchette said. "The mom and the son are always threatening to hurt each other. They cuss at each other. They have many animals that they don't take care of ... The cops have been called multiple times, and I got to witness that. I couldn't even sit outside with my client for her to enjoy the sunshine because of all this."

The next speaker was John Miller, who lives with his wife and three children near the residence on Pennton. Miller said that his bicycle has been stolen on multiple occasions.

"I called the police, and they gave me the bike back, but they couldn't press charges or anything because they didn't actually see who took the bike," Miller said. "Well, two days after that, the bike was taken again. We didn't have any cameras on the residence at the time. So I put some up maybe one week after that. And then I saw one of the guys that hangs out over there coming around, sneaking around the back of the house, messing with the bikes again, but I had those chained up. Other than that, we don't let [the kids] go out there."

Edith Cordova lives on Pennton Avenue with her husband and two children.

"We've seen a lot of things at that house," she said, "but in the last couple years, it's gotten worse. We know about somebody dying of overdose at that house in their backyard. They have street people come camping in their yard. They have a poor dog that they don't care of, and sometimes my husband feeds him. The worst thing is that accumulation of trash and the smell that comes out of that house."

After Cordova spoke, no one else in the audience volunteered to offer comment.

Councilman Todd Perdue asked Planning Director Jenny Wheelock and Police Chief Brent Phelps if this case was on the list of problem houses that are currently being worked on.

"Because if it's not at the top, it needs to be," Perdue said. "We've got health issues there, the smell and the critters and things. So it's got to be at the top."

Phelps said that the woman who lives in the house with her son was given authority to live there by the owner, a family member who lives out of state.

Phelps assured the council and the troubled residents that law enforcement officials and the Planning Board are aware of these issues and doing the best they can to resolve them.

"We have opened a nuisance case on the property currently," he said. "One of the issues that is hard for law enforcement to deal with is there are people who are being allowed to come onto the property. They're not trespassing if the person who's in control of the property is allowing those folks to be there. We did make an arrest out there a week and a half ago for disorderly conduct ... and we were able to put that person in jail. Another individual that was causing problems, we served a warrant on him this past weekend. We are trying to address the issue. It frustrates us when we feel like we can see a problem and our hands are sometimes tied to be able to fix it. I have children, I have a daughter and son. I feel for these parents. I understand their frustration, and we're going to try to do everything in our power to address the issues."

Phelps encouraged the residents to call the police anytime they have a problem with their neighbors.

"Call us because one, it shows a track record," Phelps explained. "It gives us a date and time of incidence and community concerns. So that gives us data when we're looking at and trying to address an issue. If we're able to get to the place of a nuisance concern, that data helps us. Please continue to call us."

In other news, a public hearing was held to receive public comments regarding the city's annual budget for fiscal year 2022-2023 beginning July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2023. No one signed up to speak on this subject. City council unanimously approved the budget as presented.

Additionally, on behalf of city council, Mayor Joe Gibbons presented a framed city flag and resolution to Mac Martin in honor and recognition of his 17 years of dedicated and outstanding service on the Lenoir Planning Board and Board of Adjustments.

"We thank you for what you've meant to our city on our Planning Board," Gibbons said. "You've helped us do a lot of great planning for our city."

Moreover, Jeffery Link, athletic director at CCC&TI, addressed the council regarding CCC&TI's baseball team, the Cobras, finishing No. 3 in the nation with a 49-9 record, and Region 10 and Mid-Atlantic District Championships. As a token of appreciation for the city of Lenoir's great partnership and support, Link presented Gibbons with a Region Champions 2022 T-shirt and an autographed program from the World Series Game.

"Joe has been our biggest fan," said Link. "He's been right there since day one ... Mayor, we do appreciate what you do for us."