County rejects Matlock offer

Loudon County Commission denied a settlement agreement with a Lenoir City man Monday for a violation of zoning regulations.

Commissioners Adam Waller and Van Shaver motioned and seconded, respectively, to deny the settlement. The vote passed 9-0 with Commissioner Harold Duff absent.

The standoff with Mark Matlock involves an accessory building constructed too close to a property line on Beals Chapel Road.

Matlock appeared before Loudon County Board of Zoning Appeals in November 2018, and the board upheld the decision that the pool house with a roof covering was “in violation of the zoning regulations and must be brought into compliance.

A legal complaint was filed in August by the county.

“It’s been that long and he’s just ignored every letter, everything there’s been,” Shaver said. “He has totally refused or ignored it. He has forced the county to take the legal action we have. We didn’t want to do this. We don’t want to have to be suing citizens, but he’s forced our hand because he refuses to comply.”

The rejection came after commissioners met Monday in executive session with Bob Bowman, county attorney, to discuss the agreement proposed by Matlock’s legal counsel, W. Edward Shipe.

“They said that they would take 5 feet off the roof, which Jim Jenkins (county codes enforcement director) said will make it compliant, so we’re stuck with that,” Shaver said. “The wall will stay. There’s a cinder block wall that started all of this, privacy wall, which is legal on the property line. … We have rejected this and I guess the only stickler right now is the fine amount.”

Matlock could be fined $5-$50 per day for the continued violation.

“It’s a matter of people need to respect our zoning laws,” Waller said. “That’s the big part of it. We need to make sure we’re keeping those in check and make sure we’re holding people accountable for following the zoning laws because person A has to abide by it and so does person B. They apply to everybody.”

Bowman will now reach out to Shipe.

“I think more than anything everybody just wants to get this thing over and behind all parties,” Rollen “Buddy” Bradshaw, Loudon County mayor, said. “This is just that next step. … I trust Bob to get us the fairest offer he can get us. Anytime there’s negotiation you usually end in a different place than you start from, and so I think Bowman will do that and hopefully we can come to an agreement.”

Any future proposal will need to be brought before commission for approval, Shaver said.

“The whole reason to have a fine is to make it punitive and to be a deterrent for someone else to violate the county zoning regulations,” Shaver said. “There would be instances, just hypothetical instance out there where somebody could do something and say, ‘Heck it costs me $10 a day, what do I care?’ The penalty needs to be commensurate with the violation. Right now we’ve got thousands of dollars in legal fees already invested in it, so we certainly want to make sure we recoup our legal fees on it, too.”

Matlock was not present at the meeting. Shipe could not be reached for comment by News-Herald presstime.

Landfill talks continue

During the meeting, Commissioner Kelly Littleton-Brewster asked for direction from commissioners should a vote occur during a Loudon County Solid Waste Commission meeting on a proposed contract amendment with landfill operator Santek Waste Services.

Littleton-Brewster and Commissioner David Meers motioned and seconded, respectively, for commission to take a stand against extending the contract. Commissioners voted 5-0, with Shaver, Waller, Henry Cullen and Julia Hurley abstaining.

“I feel like from hearing on the vote 5 to 4 with one person being absent, I feel like what they’re saying to me is at this time it is not wise to extend the contract,” Littleton-Brewster said. “… It also tells me that the two county commissioners, myself and Commissioner Meers from District 1, where the landfill is located, have a problem extending this contract.”

Cullen said he abstained because he felt the decision solely fell to the solid waste board. Waller agreed with Cullen.

“We have no say in it whatsoever,” Waller said. “It’s the solid waste commission’s sole authority. I wish we’d just sell the dang thing and get out from underneath it. Poplar Springs (Landfill) was a huge mess. I trust Kelly, it’s all her. What we vote has no relevance whatsoever.”

The solid waste board met Tuesday after News-Herald presstime.

In other news, Loudon County Commission:

• Presented Dr. Bud Guider with a proclamation for his decades of service to the county.

• Passed updates to Loudon County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, Loudon County Visitors Bureau board and Industrial Bond/Development board.

• Authorized amendments to County General Fund 101, Recycling Centers Fund 116, Highway Department Fund 131, General Purpose School Fund 141, School Federal Projects Fund 142 and General Capital Projects Fund 171.