Facing complaints, village vows to act against ‘eyesores’

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By Krystle S. Morey

 

Upon driving or walking around the village of Granville, some eyesore properties taint the landscape.

Items piled on porches, trash in yards and unsightly fences are just a few. Though the properties may be in the minority, they stick out like a sore thumb.

“There are three that are really a disgrace, the condition that they are it,” said former mayor John “Hector” Norton.

Norton put the village board on the spot regarding what he called “observations” at a board meeting May 7 and demanded officials do something about the properties, some of which are safety concerns.

One was regarding the notorious fence that surrounds two empty parcels on Main Street. The fence surrounds a hole, the site where two downtown buildings were heavily damaged by fire in November 2012.

“That fence … it’s a disgrace really. I think it looks like heck,” Norton said.

He noted how the wooden fence that surrounds the hole was never meant to be a permanent solution, but six years later, it is still there.

“And it keeps falling down,” Norton said.

“It seems as though something could be done about that,” he said. “There must be some law on the books that can get that taken care of.”

“I agree with you 150 percent,” said trustee Paul Labas. “The problem is that it’s private property.”

“I am scared to death of somebody falling into that thing,” he said.

“We need to see what we can do about it,” agreed trustee Dean Hyatt.

 

This is only a preview of the story published in the Granville Sentinel. To read the full story, pick up a print copy of this week’s paper at the newsstand or read it online here.