News

Ask Matt ... what's going up on Fifth Avenue West?

By Matt Matteson, Published: May 21, 2017

Q. What is going on with the old garage door business on 5th Avenue?

Rolf Marti is the new owner. As a new Laurel Park resident who frequently passed by the brick front building at 1628 Fifth Avenue West, he learned that it was up for auction. He bid on it and got the 3,000-square-foot building on a half-acre of land and is now renovating it for lease. “The previous owner let the building go,” said Marti. “There was a lot of water damage from a leaking roof and we had to take out the entire floor.”
Marti had a janitorial business in Florida so the renovation work is a first for him but the retiree seems to enjoy the challenge. He will eventually shell in the walls and add a roof. He is still unsure if the unique design on the exterior brick will remain. In addition to the Indoors, Inc. garage door company, the building has been home to Kathy’s Ceramics and long before that it was a coal company evidenced by the old rusty coal scales still on the site.

Q. Unclaimed Yellowbook phone directories draw attention to unoccupied homes. Is tossing the Yellowbooks in driveways littering?

Littering? Probably, but good luck in your pursuit of justice. Yellowbook is produced by Hibu Inc. with headquarters in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The company produces a landline telephone directory for many communities and “delivers” it free to every business and residence in the county. Hibu hires temporary delivery people who are paid by the number of books delivered. Delivery personnel are admonished to “place the book on the hinged side of the front door of each residence.” This is a far cry from where most books land – in your driveway and the driveway of your neighbor who might be on vacation.
So what’s a disgruntled resident to do? Well, most people throw the books away or toss them on their neighbor’s front doorstep.
Yes, the internet is littered with gripes about Yellowbook’s delivery system. I found a guy in Chattanooga who, after filing a complaint, actually got a response from the Hibu people. The company gave him a toll-free number for grievances (1-800-373-3280) which I tried but then quickly ran out patience.
I checked with Hendersonville and Laurel Park officials and it seems that very few complaints are registered, at least not enough to pursue the littering issue. A word of caution when dealing with Hibu – just remember these guys know where you live.

* * * * *

Send questions to askmattm@gmail.com.