Residents tell Owens Cross Roads council they witnessed escapes from nearby girls' home; city attorney offers to investigate

Residents raised safety and licensing concerns about a nearby girls' home during the public-comment period, and the contract city attorney said the city is conducting fact-finding and will follow up.

Nathan Nicholson, who identified himself as living at 181 Dudley Lane, said he had twice transported young women back to a facility and described repeated incidents. "I'm just wondering if based on feelings being calmed down now ... I would like to know from an educational standpoint of where we stand as far as I know the city controls the business license and the ability to issue that license for that company to operate," Nicholson said, asking whether state or federal authorities might be involved.

A neighbor, Diane, said she recently witnessed a young woman leave the home and quoted the person as saying, "I wouldn't even put my dog in that place," and urged the council to "straighten it out." Both residents said the problem had happened multiple times and expressed concern for small children on nearby streets.

The contract city attorney responded that the issue was not on the meeting agenda and that "our office along with the city are in the course of fact-finding and making determinations as to what the city has the ability to do," and offered to speak with Nicholson after the meeting.

Why it matters: Residents said recurring incidents at the facility create public-safety concerns for nearby streets and questioned what municipal authority exists over licensing and enforcement. The attorney's offer to investigate indicates the city is treating the matter as an emerging concern but did not announce any immediate enforcement action at the meeting.

What happens next: The attorney offered follow-up discussion after the meeting and the city indicated officials are reviewing available options; no formal referral or enforcement action was recorded on the meeting agenda.