Irvine City Council discusses damaged apartment building
Linda Carter, of Wallace Court, addressed the council Monday evening about the diverted traffic from Wallace Court to Sweet Lick Road.
By Kyle Woosley, KPA Summer Intern
The Irvine City Council met to discuss the budget for the 2012-2013 fiscal year, but spent most of the meeting talking about a damaged apartment building on Wallace Court.
“The whole end of the building has big cracks all the way up the brick,” said Fire Chief Tony Murphy. “We didn’t know what else to do but we shut the street down.”
Councilwoman Nelle Williams expressed concern for the building and said not having it torn down would reflect poorly on the council. She asked that the building be condemned.
“I think it looks bad on us that we’d allow it,” Williams said. “It’s all rotten. It’s awful, the whole thing is awful.”
Due to the building being damaged, traffic has been diverted from Wallace Court onto Sweet Lick Road.
Linda Carter, of Wallace Court, also addressed the council regarding the closing of the road.
“Somebody is going to have a wreck going down this road,” Carter said. “It is an inconvenience, it’s a waste of gas and nothing has been done.”
Attorney Rodney Davis said, despite the inconvenience, the road must be closed due to safety.
“We can cite her [the owner], but we don’t regulate that type of commercial building within the city,” said Attorney Rodney Davis. “You have to look at it from a safety standpoint. I’d rather have an inconvenience.”
After a short discussion, the council approved the first reading the 2012-2013 budget.
“It gets harder each year to provide, but we’re surviving,” Farmer said. “We’re doing well but we’re not doing as well as we’d like.”
The mayor gave a prepared budget message for the council and those in attendance.
“The financial state of the city is not where we’d like it to be, but it’s still better than some,” Farmer said. “I hope you find this budget proposal reasonable and workable.”
City Clerk Robin Sewell asked for raises across the board for state employees.
“I have been here for four years and there’s never been a raise across the board,” Sewell said.
Farmer appointed Councilmen Tim Burkhart and Billy Arthur to a committee to look into the request, but said there is no guarantee.
The next council meeting will be 7 p.m. July 9 at Irvine City Hall.