H’wick council okays couple’s house

The Howardwick City Council voted to allow a manufactured home to be moved into the city over the objections of Mayor Greta Byars during a meeting last Tuesday, December 11.

The action came after contentious discussion about the definition of a manufactured home versus a mobile home, the ownership of the property in question, and other issues pertaining to Lorendo and Amy Schlinker’s effort to bring a home to Howardwick.

Byars said a setup man had attempted to deliver the Schlinker’s home last month, but the mayor said the property was not prepped correctly and the home could not be set. Byars would not let the deliverer leave the home on the property but gave him other options of where to unhitch. She said she later learned that the setup man hauled the home back to Midland because his company would not allow it left at any other property than that owned by the person financing the home.

The mayor also said the Donley Appraisal District website did not show Schlinkers as owning the property, but Alderman Brice Hawley said the appraisal district’s database was simply not updated and that the sale of the property to the Schlinkers is recorded in the county clerk’s office.

Discussion then turned to zoning with Byars noting that mobile homes are not allowed in the area of the property in question. Byars gave a history on mobile / manufactured homes dating back to the 1920s.

Members of the council and the Schlinkers themselves argued that the home in question is a manufactured home of about 1500 square feet and is not a mobile home. Alderman Debbora Sharpton said the Schlinkers’ situation was no different than someone wanting to move an existing home in the city to a different location, but Byars continued to maintain that city zoning prohibits the Schlinkers’ home.

Aldermen ultimately voted 4-0 to allow the Schlinkers to move their home to their property.

“Well, I voted against it,” Byars said after the vote.

“Well, you don’t vote,” said Alderman Marietta Baird.

The manufactured home question was punctuated with outbursts from the audience, and Mayor Byars at one point even asked that one citizen be escorted out, although no one did so.

The heated discussion came toward the end of a length agenda in what had been otherwise a generally peaceful meeting. Other items of city business last week included:

Approval of purchasing ceiling fans and a step ladder for City Hall;
Changing the city meeting time from 7 p.m. to 6 p.m. due to the fall time change;
Approval of Foster & Lambert as the city’s auditor for fiscal year 2018;
Agreement that the city will not collect used motor oil;
An update that the city is now in compliance with an inspection by the state fire marshal’s office;
Approval of a resolution to apply for a grant that would provide up to $275,000 for street improvements to Rick Husband Boulevard if approved;
A short executive session followed by action to furlough one city employee until spring and give another a raise but keep him on an “as needed” basis until spring;
Approval to purchase a surveillance system for not more than $250;
Disapproval of a request by Henry Olivares to be exempted from paying for trash service;
And approval of purchasing new signage for City Hall not to exceed $600.