School fence stalls repair of sidewalk

KENNETH CITY -- Town officials want Dixie Hollins High School to move a parking lot fence, but so far they aren't getting any results.

Mayor William Smith said an 8-foot chain-link fence recently installed by the school district is on city property and too close to a 190-foot section of sidewalk the city wants to repair.

"If it were on my property and somebody did that to me, I'd throw it right back into their yard. I don't know what we're going to do," Smith said at a Town Council meeting last week.

The council decided several months ago to advertise for bids to repair the sidewalk. The repair cost is estimated between $25,000 and $28,000.

Council members were surprised when the fence was installed. Council member Al Carrier said the school provided no notification or sought permission to put the fence on city property.

Both Smith and Carrier said they have tried to talk to school officials but have yet to be told what will be done with the fence. School officials could not be reached for comment.

The fence surrounds a student parking lot at the corner of 62nd Street and 46th Avenue. Council members said they would be just as happy if the school district "took back" the right of way that borders the city limits and fixed the sidewalk. The right of way was deeded to the city in the 1980s.

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