City officials say they want to clean up the lot and make it part of the new Kevin Loftin Park being built next door. The boat landing sits by Wilkinson Boulevard, almost atop the Gaston County line. It’s visible to everyone who enters Gaston County, but it’s not a pleasant sight.
The spot has been plagued by trash and the occasional campsite for years. The city didn’t own the land, so Belmont officers couldn’t patrol it or clean it up. Neil Brock with Keep Belmont Beautiful sent volunteer groups to the lot several times, but quit after finding needles and glass shards. Trash bins were also put in place but they kept overflowing since public works crews weren’t there to empty them.
Search for the owner: The search for the owner started almost three years ago, said David Isenhour, Belmont’s maintenance director. Parks Wilson, Belmont’s city attorney tracked down property records that dated back to the early 1900s. In 1930, he found a record that implied one man owned the lot.
“The old deeds like back in the ’30s, some of the language is not very clear. It’s very broad,” he said. “It was a very complicated, convoluted sequence of transfers.” Once Wilson contacted the correct heir, the owner was more than willing to sell. Belmont bought the land for $55,000 and closed on the property two weeks ago.
Clean up already started: Clean up has already started at the boat landing, Isenhour said. Crews went in once the sale was final and picked up all the trash. City police will now patrol the area until a gate with posted hours can go up. The gate and several other much needed improvements are planned. Streetlights, improved pavement and, of course, trash bins will go onto the lot.
The landing will provide extra parking for the proposed Kevin Loftin Park. Construction on the park won’t begin until early 2015. “Now that it’s under the city’s control, we can monitor it just like the rest of our parks,” Isenhour said. “It’s going to look real nice.”
You can reach reporter Lauren Baheri at 704-869-1842 or Twitter.com/lbaheri.