| January 10, 2013 The High Point City Council again voted unanimously at its Monday, Jan. 1 meeting to demolish six condemned buildings in a Meredith Street apartment complex, owned by Schwarz Properties LLC of Asheboro.
The council also voted to demolish buildings in that complex at its Oct. 1 meeting. But since then Schwarz Properties was given 90 days to come up with a plan to save the buildings and no plan was produced.
Most of the discussion about the issue occurred in the Finance Committee meeting that took place immediately before the regular council meeting.
The buildings in question have reportedly been in violation for years. In 2010, the council voted to close most of the complex.
Representatives from Schwarz Properties have communicated on and off with the city about repairing the facility, often citing vandalism and other crimes in the area as an obstacle to maintaining the buildings.
High Point City Attorney JoAnne Carlyle said the owners had been given multiple opportunities to save the properties.
Several approaches to the demolition were discussed, including the idea to start with just one of the six buildings. Carlyle said that could limit the exposure of the city in the event the property owner takes them to court over the demolition.
Councilmember Jim Davis expressed concern that moving to demolish the buildings could leave the city vulnerable in court. "I know the Schwarz brothers," he said. "I think if they want to make a point of this, money is not an object for them."
However, councilmembers agreed that the owners had been given enough chances. At the Finance Committee meeting Councilmember Becky Smothers made the motion to demolish all six buildings and it was seconded by Councilmember Foster Douglas.
Mayor Bernita Sims pointed out that the vote would have to take place at the City Council meeting.
Assistant City Manager Randy McCaslin said a contractor had priced the demolition of the six buildings at $84,000. However, McCaslin said the demolition could cost between $110,000 and $120,000 if the buildings contain asbestos, which he said is likely.
No one representing Schwarz Properties spoke at the meeting.
The council also passed a motion to pay Guilford County Schools $300,000 for 10 acres of property along Shadybrook Road next to the High Point Athletic Complex and Miracle Field.
The vote was 5 to 4 with Sims and Councilmembers Britt Moore, Jeff Golden, Judy Mendenhall and Davis voting in support of the motion. Councilmembers Jason Ewing, Jay Wagner, Smothers and Douglas voted against it.
Before the vote Smothers introduced a substitute motion to offer $291,300. That figure was derived from the most recent Guilford County appraisal of the property minus the cost of the appraisal requested by Guilford County Schools. That motion failed 2 to 7. Smothers and Douglas voted in favor of the motion.
High Point made an offer April 11 of last year to purchase the property for $294,300, while Guilford County Schools said the property was worth $400,000. The two have been debating price since. However, the Guilford County school board has indicated it would accept $300,000.
The council also voted to enter a three-year, $575,000 contract with Asplundh Tree Expert trimming services. The company is contracted to keep vegetation away from electrical power lines.
However, Smothers objected to continuing to work with Asplundh, which has drawn harsh criticism in Greensboro where the company carried out drastic tree cutting as a subcontractor for Duke Energy.
Smothers said, "I don't think that they are a supervised group." She also said the company's tree cutting practices were not scientific.
Director of Electric Utilities Garey Edwards answered questions about Asplundh. He said that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission had started fining utility companies for prolonged blackouts; provoking them to intensify line-clearing operations.
The motion to enter into the contract with Asplundh passed 7 to 2 with Smothers and Douglas voting in opposition.
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