Grifton Board

GRIFTON —  A minister from a local church delivered a blistering rebuke to the Grifton Board of Commissioners during their regular meeting last Tuesday night about its failure to relieve eyesores and hazards from adjoining properties.

Rev. Larry Murphy, pastor of Zion Temple African Methodist Episcopal Zion (AMEZ) Church at 7078 Highland Ave., Grifton, passed out a prepared statement from members of the Church Board. He read the statement.

“For over five years we have asked the town to do something effectively to relieve our Church of hazardous consequences of adjoining properties that affect the health of the people that live constantly around them. These buildings and land holes negatively affect our air qualities of breathing and may ultimately have negative impacts on the qualities of our health, well may have already been responsible for some of the sicknesses our people have experienced since the flood.”

Upon questioning by Mayor Tim Bright about the properties, Rev. Murphy refused to name them, saying that the board was well-aware of the properties in question. Town Administrator Michael Peoples, the day after the meeting, identified the properties as those belonging to the Desoto Brown Heirs in care of Harvey Beech of Kinston, located at 705 West Contentnea Drive, Grifton and Donald and Peggy Hardee of Greenville, located at 229 Contentnea Drive, Grifton.

Rev. Murphy continued by citing air quality standards required by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), noting that the area had not been tested to-date. He told the board air quality in the area needed to be check because of what he alleged to be “...pollutions left in these properties that the town has failed to evaluate their environmental impact on the people that live and operate within close proximity of them.”

Rev. Murphy reminded board members that all other properties affected by the flood were required to be stripped and properly restored before returning for occupancy. He said the board has allowed these properties to remain despite its policies and regulations to the contrary. “These properties have no value to the people who live and operate around them,” Rev. Murphy said. “They only present health hazards and tremendous eyesores.”

 With the commissioners meeting room filled to capacity, Rev. Murphy said, “We are here tonight insisting strongly to the Town of Grifton that if such a condition existed in a white neighborhood in lieu of the predominately black neighborhood that these properties are located, that Grifton Town Commissioners and Mayor Tim Bright would have expedited demanded actions through the Grifton Town Administrator, Mr. Michael Peoples, to get the owners of these properties to do what’s required in accordance with existing rules and regulations governing this area.”

Rev. Murphy challenged the board to take immediate corrective action and “...to rectify this horrible atrocity or poor quality of enforcing the rules and regulations that should have been accomplished years ago.”

Rev. Murphy continued, “Any articulated reasons presented by those responsible shouldn’t even be voiced unless there are valid and supported reasons as to why we’ve had to experience this horrible dilemma for over five years. We would rather for you to take the required action to get the situation corrected than to give us any excuses that would not be worthy of credence and serve only as pretexts for discrimination.”

Mayor Bright said the board has contacted the owners and has tried to clean it up. He added, “We’d have loved to see it cleaned up five years ago.” 

Rev. Murphy said the church groups wants action and further suggested that EPA would be contacted and a lawsuit if necessary.

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