Steven G. Meeks is president of the Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society. He’s Albemarle’s elected rep on the Thomas Jefferson Soil and Water Conservation District. And until April 20, he served on Scottsville’s Architectural Review Board.
That’s when Scottsville Town Council unanimously voted to rescind his appointment to the ARB because a house he managed in the town’s historic district was an “eyesore,” according to Scottsville Weekly, which first reported the ouster.
Mayor Barry Grove said the council voted Meeks off the board because of his “antagonistic conduct to the town about access to the Van Clief Nature Area and that led to litigation.” The mayor also noted the “deteriorated” house in the historic district at 135 Warren St, and said, “We felt that was a conflict of interest.”
Three days after the council vote, Meeks, when contacted by a reporter, said he didn’t know he’d been voted off the volunteer board. “I didn’t know I could be removed without cause,” he said.
And he objected to the reasons cited by Grove.
Meeks and his father, Gene Meeks, own eight properties in Scottsville through Albemarle Properties LLC, according to county records. “I’ve renovated quite a few properties in Scottsville,” said Meeks. “Some of them would have been torn down if I hadn’t, including the one I live in.”
There are varying estimates on the length of time he’s been renovating the house at 135 Warren St., which was purchased in 2006 for $40,000 and currently is assessed at $32,500. Town officials said eight years, and Meeks estimated he’d been working on it four or five years.
“They don’t like the speed at which I’m renovating it,” he said.
For Councilor Jeanette Kerlin, who made the motion to rescind, it was more than that.
“In the historic district we’re held to certain guidelines about what we can and can’t do,” she said. “He’s one of those members who was real quick to point out people who weren’t doing things right. I feel it’s unfair to have him a member on the board when his house is in complete disrepair for eight years.”
Kerlin stressed that she wishes Meeks well and thinks he’s a good historian, whose background and knowledge will be missed on the ARB. But she criticized the board for never taking any disciplinary action toward him.
“He wasn’t playing by the rules that he expected everybody else to play by,” she said. “He represented us and I don’t feel it was good representation.”
At the April 7 Architectural Review Board meeting, which Meeks did not attend, the board voted that the Warren Street house was in violation of town zoning and ordered the zoning administrator to notify Albemarle Properties LLC it had 90 days to remediate or it would face further action, Scottsville Weekly reported.
The other dispute leading to Meeks’ ouster involved an easement to the Van Clief Nature Area through property on Jefferson Street owned by the Meekses. “The town felt it owned the right of way,” said Mayor Grove. “Mr. Meeks disagreed. The town prevailed.”
According to Scottsville Weekly, the town offered $5,000 for an easement, and when it was refused, went to court in February. A judge ruled in Scottsville’s favor.
“I don’t know how that can be antagonistic when I’m protecting property rights,” said Meeks.
Both Grove and Kerlin said they didn’t recall an appointment to a town board ever being rescinded.
Said Meeks, “I need to call my lawyer.”