By Emily Ford
eford@salisburypost.com
SPENCER – Would regulating rental property help clean up the town of Spencer?
Mayor Pro Tem Jim Gobbel thinks it would, and he asked board members on Tuesday to institute a program that could include rental registration, permits, inspections and fines.
The board agreed to Alderman Jeff Morris’ suggestion that town staff study the issue and present options next month.
Gobbel, who gathered information from the UNC School of Government, said he wants to target landlords whose properties end up on the code enforcement list month after month, year after year.
These repeat offenders are “not good for town, tenants or the neighborhood,” he said.
The town’s current fees and penalties must be insufficient if the same properties continue to violate the code, Gobbel said.
Alderman Scott Benfield agreed and said he would support a rental registration program.
“We can’t afford not to do it,” he said. “We even tried shaming people, and it didn’t do any good. I think we need to get in their pocket.”
Absentee landlords show up in town once a month to collect the rent, Gobbel said. They don’t care about the condition of the property or yard, he said.
“They have no respect for the town of Spencer or the neighborhoods,” he said.
The condition of rental property deteriorated while the town was without a code enforcement officer, Gobbel said. The town board cut the position last year but has since added a part-time officer.
“We have a deep ditch to dig ourselves out of,” Gobbel said.
He argued for an ordinance with “more teeth” to enforce the town codes, including probation for landlords with two violations and a graduated penalty schedule after that.
Inspections would be based on reasonable cause, or a code violation that is evident from the street, he said. A town employee would verify the violation.
“Myself, I take it personally when I have to walk through town and see this stuff,” Gobbel said. “This is my town, this is your town, this is our town.”
Town Manager Larry Smith and Price Wagoner, the town’s new land management services director, will compile data to see which code violations are most common and offer a timetable for coming up with solutions.

In other business Tuesday at the Spencer town board meeting:
• The Small Town Main Street program kicks off Sept. 18, starting with the state resource team meeting with aldermen at noon. 
Following that, the state experts will interview various stakeholders as gathered by town staff. Finally, the team will hold a community meeting from 6 to 7:30 p.m. to give an overview of the two-year process that aims to revitalize Spencer’s downtown.
The area targeted by the Small Town Main Street program is the entire N.C. Transportation Museum campus and the downtown retail district from Second Street to Seventh Street.
• The proposed trails within Spencer Woods have been flagged. The LandTrust will continue to work on potential locations for trails and parking before the town hosts a community forum where residents can share their opinions.
• The board waived the fee for use of Library Park by the Michael Yang Foundation for the annual Voice of Hope event on Nov. 4.
Aldermen thanked founder Lori Yang for her work. Yang noted that several Rowan County children have died this year, and the event could help to bring peace and hope to their families.
• Bob Oswald asked the board to give $250 to help market the Spencer Partnership’s yard sale Oct. 13 to benefit the N.C. Transportation Museum. The board took no action.
• The board amended the town’s pawnshop ordinance to reflect a new state law designed to help police crack down on metal theft. The amendment requires businesses the purchase metal to keep records and do background checks.
• The board reclassified the account clerk II-administrative assistant position to an accounting-administrative assistant position and raised the maximum salary from $32,333 to $35,566 to reflect additional responsibilities.