By Jaime Thomas
Though the Granville Town Board recently updated its mobile home ordinance, some residents don’t think it is being properly enforced.
During a meeting Thursday night, Resident William Ritchie told the board he does not think the town has good code enforcement.
“There’s a lack of enforcement in this town; the town’s going down. We didn’t have these problems when we had local code enforcement,” Ritchie said, explaining that he felt five months is too long to see a camper trailer set up.
Another resident expressed similar concerns where he lives on County Route 12.
“It’s a mess of trailers and there are two or three Porta Pottys. It’s a disaster; every time they’re there it’s a menagerie of leftover scrap,” he said.
The new mobile home ordinance was created to address such issues, but enforcement has not yet taken off the ground.
Town Supervisor Matt Hicks told the men he welcomed their input and he would pass along their specific complaints to Russ Bronson, the town’s code enforcement officer. He said officials are not always aware of those violating the mobile home ordinance, so citizens are encouraged to report issues.
“Let me know of any situation you’d like me to investigate,” Hicks said. Board member Matt Rathbun concurred with Ritchie and said he has been expressing similar concerns for a while. Hicks then told Rathbun he could take responsibility and enforce the ordinance, if he wanted.
Hicks said Bronson has always taken care of any issues that arose when there have been specific violations on Tuesday.
Former village mayor John Norton also spoke up, saying the town needs a good code enforcement officer. Hicks said several of the problems Norton brought up are within village, not town, jurisdiction.
Heritage Society
Hicks also mentioned during the meeting that Lee Comar, a former planning board member, will be resurrecting the heritage society.
Comar said the private group consists of people with an interest in the history of Granville. On Monday, he said he had been involved several years ago with the group, but interest eventually faded until no one showed up for meetings.
“It left me with the thought that no one was interested in keeping the heritage society going,” Comar said. However, as many locals again expressed concern for local history as the Quaker meeting house faced demolition Comar decided to revive the group. He said through the society, members gain knowledge of history and keep the interest going for future generations.
“There’s a lot of history in Granville, but it’s fallen by the wayside and out of notice,” he said, adding that there is a lot for local people to be proud of. He said area history dates back to the 1700s, and many don’t realize how much was going on before the slate industry.
Though he hasn’t yet set a date for the first meeting, Comar is working on reviving the society in order to get Granville’s act together for preserving local history.
Bridges and mowing
As construction finished on the Lower Turnpike Bridge this week, work will start on the Truthville Bridge, which will be closed for several months.
Highway Superintendent John Tanner said weight limit signs have been clearly posted near the bridge as well as a low clearance post.
During the meeting, the town board also opened mowing bids from a number of local landscaping companies and individuals. The board awarded Green Mountain Boys Landscaping out of Vermont the job, because they were the “best deal all around,” at $315 per biweekly mowing.