Building committee gives homeowner 90-day extension

Mickey Pettie shows members of the building committee the work he completed on the gable end of his home at the corner of St. John Avenue and East Court. [Click to enlarge]

The Dyersburg building committee agreed that homeowner Mickey Pettie had made substantial progress on the repair of his Victorian home at the corner of St. John Avenue and East Court and agreed to another 90-day extension before reviewing construction progress again.

The large house had become a bone of contention among neighbors in the community who wanted city officials to step in and condemn it. In a public meeting in April the city board gave Pettie a grace period of 100 days to make significant progress in upgrading the home. On Friday, the building committee, which is chaired by alderman James Lee, met and reviewed Pettie's progress.

Lee noted that the homeowner had installed seven windows in the home and completely replaced a three-story-high gable end that had been in poor condition. He had also made substantial progress in repairing the wrap-around porch that was falling in along the front of the building.

Pettie, a short-haul trucker, told the building committee he had been working on the home without assistance and as regularly as his work schedule permitted.