SALISBURY — The current dilapidated state of the former Monroe Street School has been the subject of recent conversations surrounding Livingstone College’s national registry listings. Members of the Salisbury City Council put their foot down on Tuesday by telling Livingstone College that it had a deadline to secure the building and present a plan for stabilization.

The members of the council effectively set two conditions for the college in moving forward with the school now known as the Samuel E. Duncan Education Center, which stands at the corner of West Monroe and Lloyd streets. The first was that the school needs to secure entrances to the building as soon as possible and confirm that with the city’s code services division. The college boarded up all of the doors in late 2024, but some of the wood has been removed since.

The second deadline the City Council set was that Livingstone needs to present a plan and projected cost for the stabilization of the building by the next meeting, which is scheduled for June 17. As part of that, Mayor Tamara Sheffield said that the city could begin enforcing code violations at the site, which would constitute a $250 a day price tag.

“I would think the potential to be leveraged roughly $7,000 a month in code fines would be enough incentive to try to come up with (a plan),” said Council Member Carlton Jackson.

The condition of the school originally came up as the council considered adding their approval to an application by the college to extend the Livingstone College National Historic District south to Old Plank Road. During that conversation, Mayor Pro Tem Harry McLaughlin and Council Member Carlton Jackson said that the college’s neglect of the Monroe Street School gave them pause in expanding the list of historic properties under its care.

Following that conversation, and a vote to deny approval, the members of the council asked for an update on the school by city departments and Livingstone staff.

City department heads all provided less than stellar reports about the condition of the historic school, with the most damning coming from the fire department and code enforcement.

Deputy Fire Chief and Fire Inspector Terry Smith revealed that the Salisbury Fire Department has ruled the building as “no entry,” meaning that firefighters are restricted to fighting any fires in a defensive manner from outside the building due to the unsafe condition inside the school.

“It limits our ability to get in there and provide a quick fire attack. We have to fight it defensively, through the windows and any external openings and it limits our ability to get inside and to get a quick knockdown on it. It allows opportunity to spread and, with open windows, it provides more ventilation which could increase fire intensity and the speed of the fire,” said Smith, answering questions from City Manager Jim Greene Jr. on what the no entry determination meant for the department.

Code Services Manager Michael Cotilla provided an 18-month snapshot of the division’s dealings with the college about the school, which included multiple meetings with former Mayor Karen Alexander, an order of compliance in October of 2024 due to the building’s unsafe conditions, the boarding up of the school in November of 2024 after citations were issued and the currently-unsecured status of the building.

“On two separate occasions, I personally witnessed younger individuals walking into the back of the school, through the opening in the fence, and into the unsecured doors. On one occasion, I was able to get out with two individuals and explain the dangers of being inside the structure in its current condition. I hope they heard me and never try to get back inside,” said Cotilla.

He added that, because of the property’s commercial status, it was in violation by not being “100 percent secure” and could be brought back before council to be declared a public nuisance. Once it was declared a nuisance, it would begin accruing $250 fines daily until either the property was brought into compliance or it was demolished by the city.

Jackson compared the condition of the school now to his time as a student there, saying that he could remember the school as a centerpiece of the community that was kept up by two staff members in “Mr. Trueblood and Ms. Brown.”

“Two people, to take care of a building that size and keep it looking good, versus a college that won’t even do any basic maintenance work is confusing. I don’t understand it and that’s why it’s difficult to look favorably on anything that’s being said when there hasn’t been any action. The old saying is the proof is in the pudding. We can talk it, but is anybody going to walk it? I see no walking taking place,” said Jackson.

Jackson was not the only former student to speak at the meeting, as Yvonne Dixon also spoke during the public comment period about the current state of the school, calling it an eyesore and saying that its unsecured status posed a danger to the people that lived around it.

“It is out of the hands of the community as to what is going to happen with it. I truly say that it is not desirable for those neighbors who have to look out their window and travel up and down Monroe Street to have to look at this. I’m certain it would not be in the community near the hospital, or the Crescent or the Country Club. So, just think about where it’s located, who is having to look at this and know how long we’ve had to look at it without it being taken care of,” said Dixon.

Council Member Susan Kluttz, former Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources which oversees historic sites throughout the state, said that the college was approaching a point where the building would be beyond saving.

“It’s a tragedy, because you can’t leave a historic building unkept forever and have it remain there and be able to even be restored. This is a time issue too. It can’t sit like it is and us have the promise that it will come back,” said Kluttz.

Mayor Pro Tem Harry McLaughlin wondered why the college did not look into selling the building to “someone who can do something with it.”

“I don’t think a lot of people talk about it, to a point, because they’re tired of talking about it and nothing has happened. It’s not because they’re content with what’s happened,” said McLaughlin.

Sheffield said that firefighters “put their lives on the line everyday, and they’ve drawn the line at this building.” She also focused on Police Chief Patrick Smith’s report, which included a sexual assault that had occurred in the building.

“There was a sexual assault in that building in January of 2023. That one sentence alone is inexcusable and falls directly on the fact that that building is not secure,” said Sheffield.

Pete Teague, Livingstone’s vice president for external communications, spoke for the college at the meeting and reiterated the college’s commitment to restoring the building while adding that he understood the community’s concerns and agreed with many of them.

“You’re concerned about the condition right now, and you should be. I have no problem with what code enforcement said, what the police department said. All that’s right, and it’s serious and you’re doing what you should do (as a City Council). But, I can assure you that it is part of our plan,” said Teague.

He also repeated Livingstone President Anthony Davis’ message that the school is not on the back-burner, instead the school has had other maintenance and construction issues that it had to take care of first, including approximately 50 years of deferred maintenance in its residence halls.

“Was that at the top of the list? No, it was not. We had to take care of where our students sleep and where they eat, but we are very active there and we are raising the resources to do that. To renovate the Monroe Street School is going to be a huge project, a major challenge, and it’s going to take a lot of money. We don’t really know how much money, and quite frankly right now, we don’t have that money,” said Teague.

Kluttz asked Teague about a $500,000 grant the college received in 2020 to stabilize the school. He said that the funding has not been used yet while the college continues to look into what it would cost to fix the roof, which is one of the primary issues with the current status of the building.

“Our concern is that it’s probably going to cost more than the grant funds that we have. Yes, we still have that money. I’m not the one who’s dealing with the grantor, but there is a back and forth there. It’s been a long, arduous process. Unfortunately, that has not been done yet but it’s still on the table,” said Teague.

At the end of the discussion and presentation, all of the City Council members gave their consensus that the college should work with code services to completely secure the building and formulate a plan to bring back to the June 17 meeting.

The council also voted unanimously to approve adding the city’s nomination to the college’s request to extend its national historic district.

City Manager Jim Greene Jr. said that he brought the issue back before the council for a second consideration because Kluttz had been absent during the original vote and there had been some confusion on the voting process when a member had been absent, leading to a 2-2 deadlocked vote.

Historic Salisbury Foundation Kimberly Stieg spoke during the public comment period and said that while she shared the disappointment in the college’s stewardship of the Monroe Street School, she approved of extending the district. She added that she wanted to see the district extended to the north as well to include other buildings in the area that were vital to the community’s history such as Moore’s Chapel AME Zion Church, McLaughlin’s Grocery and the Ritz Theatre, now the Reach Church.

“Expanding the district is a start, in any direction, but historic preservation can’t save a neighborhood if they’re not included,” said Stieg.