A Tate County resident is not pleased with the external appearance of a store next to her property.
Wanda McKinnon is searching for solutions to an eyesore fence surrounding the Dollar General at 7864 Arkabutla Road. She voiced her concerns to Tate County Supervisors at their regular monthly meeting Monday, Oct. 3.
“My property is adjacent to the Dollar General that has been there since 2018 and the fence is falling down,” McKinnon explained. “I have seen several snakes because of blight and the dilapidated fence. It’s literally falling down. I take care of my property. I take pride in it, but I am tired of looking at this fence.”
McKinnon said kudzu is growing over the sides of the neglected fence, making it look even worse. She contacted the previous manager in 2021 about the problem. The manager sent someone to cut down the kudzu, but the neglected fence was repaired by connecting wood planks together with cable ties.
“I have probably made a thousand calls to Dollar General about the condition of the fence, but my complaints have fallen on deaf ears,” McKinnon said. “I am scared to death of snakes, and I have used chemicals I paid for to keep blight off my side of the fence.”
McKinnon said Dollar General officials failed to respond to letters from her attorney regarding the condition of the fence.
“I just don’t know what else to do,” she said. “I need help.”
McKinnon told Supervisors the fence is not directly on the property line. Instead, it sits approximately six inches inside Dollar General’s lot.
District 2 Supervisor Eddie Branan said he recently talked with the store manager at Dollar General and requested a call back from the district manager, but has yet to hear from anyone.
County attorney John Lamar said there is a statute in Tate County referring to residential property line fences where parties on each side agree to maintain it. Lamar said he would review zoning ordinances regarding fences on commercial property in the county before any further action is taken.
There are currently eight Dollar General Stores operating in Tate County.
