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Dear Editor,

The Gazette’s articles of May 8 and 22 did not tell the full story on the proposed sale by the Town of Charlotte Court House of a portion of the Tanyard Spring lot. The only reason the Town is considering sale is to honor the request of the town mayor. While the spring is not a current water source, no evidence has been presented that the property is surplus or that the full lot should not be protected for future use. As part of water system upgrades completed in 2013 Town records show a cost of $142,911 for Tanyard Spring rehab.

When the Town was subdivided in 1817, there were three public spaces, the public square (historic Courthouse), church lot (now Village Presbyterian), and the 3.5 acre Tanyard Spring lot. The mayor’s home is close to the Tanyard property line and over the years the mayor’s yard has significantly expanded onto the Tanyard lot.

On May 20 by a 5 to 1 vote, Town Council approved moving forward to sell the mayor approximately .79 acre of Tanyard lot and set the price at $8,000. Out of concern the price was too low and the potential harm of selling off almost one fourth of the historic Tanyard lot too high, I voted no. Earlier in the meeting I made two motions to minimize risk to Tanyard Spring and get more money for the Town. First to sell 20 feet for $10,000 (which would provide sufficient land for the mayor’s planned new construction) and second to sell 100 feet for $50,000. Neither motion received a second.

The first duty of elected Town officials should be to the Town, not to their own.

Terry Ramsey

Charlotte Court House