The Mountaineer

A Canton alderman’s statement about holding building owners accountable for the appearance of their buildings has drawn criticism from some town residents.

In an Oct. 14, story in The Mountaineer, Canton Alderman Eric Dills said he would like to put pressure on downtown building owners to improve the looks of their building to attract new businesses.
“I have said for a long time, one of the town’s major responsibilities is to put pressure on building owners for acceptable appearance standards,” he said at the time. “I would be willing to take whatever steps are in the law to make changes.”
His statements disturbed several residents of Fourth Street, which is across from North Main Street where Dills owns two properties with houses in disrepair.
Both houses were targets of arson during the summer; one house was completely destroyed while the other sustained minimum damage.
“What worries me most is — kids like to explore — that one of those kids gets in that house and gets hurt,” said Jim Parker, who lives in the first house on Fourth Street and looks directly at the two homes. “I just want people of Canton to know before the election that he’s talking about beautifying the town and attracting families to live here. Why would families want to live in my neighborhood when it looks like this?”
Neighbor Roger Smith agrees.
“Not only is it a danger to the community, but it’s an eyesore,” Smith said. “People on Fourth Street, we take pride in our houses.”
“I see it from my front door,” said neighbor Danny Jones. “Any time you go up or down the road, you can’t help but see it.”
The first house at 52 North Main was destroyed by fire on June 8. It was ruled arson, said Det. Brad Shirley with the Canton Police Department, but there are no suspects and no arrests were ever made in the case.
A fire was reported in second house at 56 North Main on Aug.9 , Shirley said. The fire was small and contained and Shirley said the responding officer was able to put the fire out. In this case, witnesses were able to provide a vehicle description, along with a description of two suspects.
Arrested in the second case was Michael James Davis Jr., 35, and Curtis Clay Davis, 37, both with addresses in Rogersville, Tenn. Shirley said the two men recently moved to Canton prior to the second house fire. They both will appear in court within the next month for allegedly setting the fire.
There was no connection between the two men who allegedly set the fire in the second house and the fire in the first house, authorities said.
“We did at first (think there was a connection), but from what we’ve learned, they were not in the area at the time,” Shirley said. “They were fairly honest with us with the second one. And right now, there is no connection between the two houses.”
Dills said he plans to have the destroyed house demolished by fire and will remodel the property at 56 North Main.
“Because a settlement with the insurance company could not be reached, I was advised by legal council not to resume working on either property until such time a settlement had been reached,” Dills said in a prepared statement. “After obtaining an appraisal at my own expense, I was able to reach a settlement within the last couple of weeks. Hydro Pro Services of Canton is scheduling the demo work on 52 North Main (the destroyed house) and work has already resumed on 56 North Main (the second property).”
Phil Smathers, Canton’s building inspector, said a demolition permit has not yet been pulled for the destroyed house. Dills has 60 days from a condemnation hearing held Oct. 6 to demolish the building, per state statue.
Smathers said after the house is demolished, it will require an engineer’s analysis on the foundation before a house can be rebuilt on the original foundation.
Dills said he was working on both properties simultaneously, under the authority of active building permits from Canton, when both burned.
“I was the victim of a crime in both of those cases,”  he said Thursday.
Smathers said Dills obtained a permit to remodel the property at 56 North Main St. on May 13, 2008.  According to state statutes, once a permit is pulled, work has to be initiated within six months and it must continue within 12 months after that six-month period.
“He did start some work,” Smathers said of the house that burned this summer. “If the work ceases for 12 months, the permit goes dead. I tell contractors all the time to call every quarter for an inspection.”
Dills said he resumed work on the second house on Friday.
In addition to problems with the two houses on North Main Street, Smathers said Dills’ other properties are routinely on the ordinance violation list. He said the violations are for things such as for not cutting the grass and other appearance issues.
Records state that Dills was on the list as recently as Oct. 21 for too high grass, one of which was for one of the homes on North Main Street, according to Jimmy Campbell, code enforcement officer for Canton. In addition, Campbell said he has received complaints this year about Dills’ property on April 15, April 20, May 22 and June 18.
“I shouldn’t have to call and remind Mr. Dills to mow his grass,” Campbell said. “With him being an alderman, he should know the ordinances like the back of his hand.”
The ordinance violation list is one Campbell keeps as he receives complaints or based on his observations as he drives around town. Campbell said once a complaint is received about an ordinance violation, he will call the property owner to correct the problem.
“I try to give people three to four days,” he said. “Most of the time, people cooperate.”  
Dills had a different recollection.
“I don’t think I’ve been on any ordinance violation list in my term,” he said of the time since being elected to the town’s governing board. “When you fix up old houses, you’re dealing with distressed property from the beginning.”
Dills said remodeling homes is his business and something he has done so for years.
“For the past 20 years, I have purchased and restored many distressed properties in Canton, not only beautifying the community, but adding much needed value to Canton’s tax base,” he said in a prepared statement.