Venue’s safety remains issue

Moving forward on The Mountain

Last month property owners on The Mountain were given an Aug. 16 deadline to bring their businesses into compliance with city building and fire code regulation or face “emergency administrative action to alleviate the threat to public health and safety posed by the current conditions on the property.”

Mountain businesses and owner Debbie Davis Reeves were specifically asked to clean up debris from the May fire, install street signs and address numbers, and provide street lighting, fire access and adequate fire protection.

The May fire was the third blaze on The Mountain in three years. Other fires occurred in November 2013 and October 2015.

According to a the letter sent to Davis Reeves and Mountain business owners “each of these fires required city first responders to deploy to the property on an emergency basis. Reports of damage to structures on the property in local and area media indicated that over 20 buildings were affected by the November 2013 fire, that over 60 buildings were damaged or destroyed by the October 2015 fire and that at least six buildings were damaged by the most recent fire.”

Fire Chief Bud Sanford told councilmembers Aug. 16 that although there was still work to do but Davis Reeves had “made tremendous effort” to bring The Mountain up to safety standards.

A plan has been developed for access roads, he said. “The problem has been creating a base” for the roads, he said. The wet weather has delayed road construction.

Water availability has also been a concern but Davis Reeves “is committed to getting more fire hydrants and laying an addition water line” up The Mountain, Sanford said. 

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