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Resident says city records purge delayed release on paid loan for 537 Arlington Street; staff says release recorded for related property
Summary
A resident told council a long-cleared 3% loan left a lingering lien on 537 Arlington Street after city records were purged; staff said a release had been recorded for 535 but the 537 filing remained unresolved and staff would follow up.
Darlene Spencer Harris told the Rocky Mount City Council on Feb. 10 that a lien tied to a once‑low‑interest city loan continued to appear against her family’s property at 537 Arlington Street despite her paying the loan off years earlier.
Harris said the loan carried a 3 percent interest rate and that she satisfied the loan in February of an unspecified year, but when she later attempted renovation work this past August a creditor found a lien remained on 537 Arlington Street. She said the city’s older documents appeared to have been purged, making it difficult to provide recorded evidence to the register of deeds.
Harris said she contacted the city manager’s office and was referred to community development staff; she described repeated follow-up with a paralegal, Renee Moore, and said the delay has held up her project. “You’re telling me you’re too busy for me, and I’m a tax-paying citizen,” Harris said she was told, and she asked the council to resolve the matter.
City staff told Harris a release had already been recorded on one of the two addresses (535), and staff said they would check which address remains outstanding and record any additional releases required. Council members asked staff to follow up with the resident.
The council did not take formal action on the matter at the meeting; staff committed to research and to recording a release if required.
