Finding a solution at Ben’s
Residents of mobile home park meet with officials
Anderson County Law Director Jay Yeager listens to a question from the audience at a meeting of Ben’s Mobile Home Park residents held Tuesday evening, Aug. 30, at the Claxton Community Center. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss problems at the mobile home park. (photo:Pete Gwada )
Concerns from residents of the mobile home park include road conditions, drainage issues, and street lighting.
While no solid answers came out of last week’s meeting, county officials did promise to do what they could to alleviate the residents’ complaints.
About 50 people met Tuesday evening, Aug. 30, at the Claxton Community Center. Besides residents of Ben’s, the crowd consisted of Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank; several county commissioners; Jay Yeager, law director for the county; Gary Long the county’s road superintendent; and representatives of the Claxton Volunteer Fire Department and the sheriff’s office.
“It’s been going on long enough,” Commissioner Tracy Wandell said of the problems plaguing the residents of Ben’s. Wandell represents District 1, which includes Claxton. He said the participants at the meeting were not there to throw stones but to find a solution. “This is the start of getting things fixed,” he pledged.
“You have my full commitment to stand with you guys,” said Tyler Mayes, who was recently elected to fill the other District 1 seat. “We will do everything in our power to help you.”
“We are as frustrated as you are,” said Yeager. “There is no fix-all.”
He said there were problems with the roads, storm water, and sewer and water lines that the county is powerless to do anything about. He said the roads are private and it is illegal for the county to repair private roads
“We can only work on county roads,” Yeager said.
He said the roads in the mobile home park were never brought into the county road system. The roads were originally owned by Oak Ridge Development Corporation, the first developers of the property. This corporation dissolved in 1977. When a corporation is dissolved, its assets are liquidated and the proceeds are distributed to the stockholders. However, Yeager said that Oak Ridge Development did not sell the roads. So the roads are owned by a dissolved corporation. He said that even though Ben Graves, the owner of Ben’s Mobile Home Park, filed a plat stating that he owned the streets, he does not hold deeds to them. He said it was obvious from damages caused by the last rain that the roads were not built to county standards.
Yaeger did offer a gleam of hope. He said his office had identified four grants that, if awarded to the county, could be used to correct some of the problems.
After the meeting, Yaeger told The Courier News that if a grant were awarded to the county for road repair, the county would have to contract the work out. He said the county could not do the work because the roads in the park are not county roads.
Part of the problem, Yeager said, is that the property was permitted as a subdivision, not a mobile home park. The water and sewer lines are likewise on private property and are the responsibility of the property owners.
Yeager noted that there was once a homeowners association that is now inactive. He suggested reactivation of that organization, which would have the authority to enforce covenants and deed restrictions, which the county cannot enforce. “That might be a solution,” he suggested.
He noted that CUB had an agreement with the old HOA for streetlights. Yaeger noted that the sheriff’s office is working to reduce crime in the area.
As to blighted properties, Yeager explained the process for code violations that had been used on Ben’s property owners. He said the county notified the property owners to seek voluntary compliance. If that did not work, the matter would be referred to the court system. If the owner ignored the resulting court order, then a daily fine could possibly be imposed.
Eventually, if the owner took no action, the county could clean up the property and put a lien on it. However, he said this is a long process and it could be years before the county recouped its money.
“We don’t want this to ever happen again,” Yeager said as he outlined the steps the county had taken in recent years to enforce code compliance.
In September 2021 Civil and Environmental Consultants, Inc., of Knoxville prepared a preliminary assessment of Pine Meadows (the official name of Ben’s Mobile Home Park). After surveying the current condition of roads and the water, sewer and stormwater systems, the report estimated it would cost over $4 million to bring those up to county standards.