ELLERBE — The Ellerbe Town Council has denied an appeal by a new business owner in the area to put up signage that would allow him to direct traffic from Main Street towards his location, which is set to open in about a month, but there is another avenue he can pursue before the town’s next meeting.
Steven Dunn, owner of Richmond County Discount Grocery located in East Rockingham, has purchased the building at 104 East Page St. which will be a second location of the store. Dunn said he has made several improvements including painting the exterior and fixing the parking lot.
“We’ve purchased the building — we’re not renting it — so we’re here to stay,” Dunn told the council. “We’re going to invest in Ellerbe … the only problem is I’m off the main street.”
Dunn’s application to put up a permanent sign near where the town advertises its monthly meetings was denied because the town’s codes do not allow for what he’s asking for, according to Bill Bailey, Ellerbe’s code enforcement officer. The sign would be a double-sided vinyl sign that is 3 feet tall, 6 feet wide, and 3 feet off the ground, and would be designed by a professional company, Dunn said.
The council was in support of Dunn’s request, but to approve his appeal would’ve meant changing the code which would allow everyone to do the same thing. If he applied for a variance at a public hearing at the town’s next meeting on June 1, the town could grant his request and have the change apply to only him. The council went with the latter option.
In other business, the council approved an increase to the fire protection fee structure. The fees will double for each structure size and type. For example: structures with between zero and 1,500 square feet will go from $30 to $60, and those $100,000 square feet and up will go from paying $4,000 to $8,000.
This applies to commercial and agricultural structures, residential, and acreage and vacant lots. The change will go into effect on July 1, 2020.
The town requested this change be made because the fee structure had been established on Aug. 5, 1996 and had not been updated since. The Richmond County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved the change earlier this month.
The council tabled a discussion of former Ellerbe Mayor Lee Berry annexing his property into the city limits until they could get a better idea of the impacts this would have.
In 2018-2019 the town applied for a USDA grant for help on their sewer renovation but they were denied. The council voted to resubmit their application in the hopes that they will be more competitive with a rewritten application.