“Free and Clear”
The Town of Williamston now has free and clear ownership of three properties located on Greenville Drive which were being purchased by the town and turned into a “legal mess”.
Mayor Rockey Burgess confirmed this week that a legal problem with one of the properties, which has been ongoing since 2023, has finally been settled and the deed to the Town has been executed and recorded.
The legal problem, which has been a hold up for the Town taking ownership of the third of three properties, was recently settled through a mediation process between Powdersville Holdings and Cox and Cole Attorneys.
Mayor Burgess said there were no concessions made on behalf of the Town and that the other two parties involved had worked out the settlement, giving the Town a clear deed.
The property, identified as Lot 4, was one of three properties, which the Town attempted to purchase in 2022.
Williamston Town Council approved a resolution in June 2022, to allow Mayor Burgess to negotiate with the owner, to purchase the property. Burgess stated at the time that the town was paying $325,000 for the property and that he had a “handshake deal” with the owner.
There were legal problems with two of the properties.
Lot 4 was sold for delinquent taxes at the Anderson County Tax Sale in Nov. 2021. Powdersville Holdings purchased Lot 4 for $9,000.
The owner of property sold at a tax sale has one year from the sale date to redeem the property by paying the outstanding tax bill and related fees. According to the Anderson County Tax information, the property owner at the time was Deborah Thompson.
Since the property tax was not paid and redeemed, the tax sale purchaser became the owner.
At the time, Richard Dixon of Powdersville Holdings, said that Powdersville Holdings received a clear deed to the property on Feb. 17, 2023 and stated that Powdersville Holdings was the owner of that property.
Closing on the deal was handled by Cox and Cole Attorneys. Attorney Lee Cole, of Cox and Cole, was also a town councilman at the time of the initial deal.
Mayor Burgess said the town’s funds for the purchase of all three properties were transferred to the presumed property owners at closing.
Burgess was negotiating with Larry Smith. There were two businesses operating on the properties at the time, Main Street Motors and Design Depot.
The properties were identified as 610 Greenville Drive TMS number 244-02-07-001; Lot 5 Highway 20 TMS number 244-02-07-006 and Lot 4 Highway 20 TMS number 244-02-07-002.
The purchase price for the property at 610 Greenville Drive was $97,500. That property was owned by Jonita Oconnell of Hendersonville, NC.
The property, which had the Design Depot business located on it, was purchased by the Town from Larry Smith. However, according to both Smith and Williamston Mayor Rockey Burgess, the property was supposed to have been recorded with Anderson County by the Attorney Lee Cole who was handling the purchase closing, as having ownership transferred to Smith, but the deed was either not filed or “lost in the mail”.
The two properties identified as Lot 5 and Lot 4 were purchased for a total of $227,500.
Lot 5 had the main building, known as the “Quonset hut”, which once housed a popular eating establishment, The “Dinner Bell”, and later Main Street Motors, located on it. The property was owned by Deborah Thompson and was transferred to the Town, with a clear deed, in 2023 according to Mayor Burgess and Anderson County Tax records.
When the deal was authorized by resolution in 2022, Mayor Burgess asked council to approve the property purchase “for economic development purposes”.
Burgess described the property as an “eyesore” and said the town planned to purchase the three lots, raze the area and provide greenspace, other municipal services or possibly market the property.
“This is a step in the right direction,” he said in 2022. “It (that part of town), the African American community, has been neglected. It is a prime opportunity.” Burgess told Council, “It will be the start of revitalization in that area of town.”
Councilman Tony Hagood, who represents Ward One in which the properties are located, agreed it had been an eyesore and made the motion to approve the resolution. He thanked the mayor and other council members for voting to move forward with the resolution.
The property has recently been cleaned up and currently has a warehouse building located on it.
Hospital building issue also settled
The Town has also recently settled a problem with another property purchase, the old Williamston Hospital building on Williams Street. The property was being transferred to the Town through a deal with Anderson County, after the property, which was owned by Williamston Center LLC, went through a tax sale situation for unpaid taxes.
While the property was being transferred and legalities worked out, the Town made approximately $50,000 in improvements in the building. Mayor Burgess said the issue also went through a mediation process and that the Town, while not taking ownership of the property, has recouped most of the money that was invested in it.
