Perry vows to clean up ‘hot mess’ in subdivision

PERRY -- Several of the city’s leaders apologized profusely to angry residents of a subdivision where city work has gone wrong.

Residents of the 1100 block of Creekwood Drive said the city’s work there has left half their yards torn up and some mailboxes nearly in the street. Water pooled up in the roadway, and fences had been removed.

Mary Lou Simon said it looked as if the city had only fixed an area up to the turn off to Creekwood Drive, then left the rest alone.

Mayor Jimmy Faircloth said the city’s contractor was done, but city workers would evaluate the problems, create a plan and fix them. Work will be done within six months, he said. That time frame didn’t make Simon happy.

“I have seen (the street),” Faircloth said. “Most of council has seen it. It is bad, and I admit that. It will be corrected.”

Councilwoman Phyllis Bynum-Grace called the situation a “hot mess.”

“It is a hot mess, and we’re going to do everything we can to correct it,” said Bynum-Grace, who was among several council members to visit the site in the rain before complaints came in.

The city started in the area with a sidewalk project, and it turned into a stormwater project. City Manager Lee Gilmour took responsibility for the project Tuesday, even as he was being honored for 15 years of service. Faircloth said Gilmour knows his job and what he’s doing, though he sometimes does things the council doesn’t agree with.

“Just like now,” Gilmour chimed in.

Separately, City Council members agreed on a concept plan for Heritage Park, to be located at 2005 U.S. 341 North. The 20 acres of land is located about halfway between Interstate 75 and Airport Road. The Worrall Foundation proposed one playing field, two picnic shelters and walking trails in the park.

Jim Mehserle, an architect volunteering with the foundation, said the site would be left largely to nature, because it involves a meadow, wooded areas, glades and dales.

In another matter, the council unanimously rejected an ordinance proposed to ease regulations on accessory dwellings. Councilman Randall Walker said the measure would have given automatic approval to too many kinds of developments, which already can be built with city review.

To contact writer Mike Stucka, call 744-4251.

This story was originally published October 21, 2014 at 7:45 PM with the headline "Perry vows to clean up ‘hot mess’ in subdivision ."