The Anderson City Council granted a 60-day reprieve to the old "Harnar" nursing home located at 300 South Walnut and 314 Cedar streets at its Tuesday night meeting.
The property has been condemned by the council and targeted for demolition, but Michael Burg approached the council and asked if the council would consider taking the property off its condemned list.
He said he is in the process of purchasing the property with plans to renovate the two structures into a single family dwelling for himself and his family.
Mayor John Sellers said residents in the neighborhood are ready for the "eyesore" to be demolished and he wasn't sure if anybody would be willing to take the property off the condemned list.
Sellers said that the city would have to be assured that Burg is financially capable of doing the restoration; have the experience or hire someone with the experience to get the property up to all city code requirements; and have the ability to get the work done in a "reasonable" amount of time.
Alderman Gene Cantrell's motion to table any demolition plans for 60 days in order to give Burg time to move forward with his purchase of the property and to come up with a plan for the restoration was approved by the council.
Infrastructure Replacement, Repairs
The council gave tentative approval for the final segment of the "Moss Church" water line replacement project.
Work is currently done on a stretch that would replace the line to within about 2,500 feet of a pressure tank in the Moss community. Nathan Wagner, who is installing the line for contractor Chris Tinsley, told the council he has about 600 feet of pipe left of what has been previously approved by the council.
Wagner said about 3,200 feet of the problem line has been replaced so far.
Brandon Forcum, public works director, told the council that he would get an estimate of the cost of the parts and installation and get it to the council for final approval.
Mayor John Sellers said the cost so far on the line replacement has been about $10,000, which Alderman Gene Cantrell said was cheaper by contracting with Tinsley than could be done any other way.
The council also approved repairs to the east water tower. Forcum said the tower was inspected in 2013 and it was found that the tower needed some maintenance. The cost will be $2,875 to fix the problems.
Forcum told the council the parts are in to replace a six-inch pipe over Beaver Branch on Main Street. The pipe busted on Jan. 11 and is not repairable. Forcum said the section has been isolated by shutting off valves and is not currently leaking and no one has their water shut off.
He said he will have to rent some kind of a lift to get the 48-foot section of pipe into the proper location on the bridge to be strapped down.
Other Business
Sellers was given approval by the council to contact Swift Construction to get estimates for street paving. Sellers and the council identified four streets for consideration including Anderson Street from Highway 59 to Highway 76; Cedar Street next to the old Harnar nursing home; Industrial Park Drive from Business Highway 71 to the entrance of the industrial park; and Park Street from Freeman Ambulance to Highway 59.
The council approved bills in the amount of $75,168.50.
General News on 01/22/2015