Jackson Free Press

The former home of the late Mayor Frank E. Melton and the young men he invited to live with him there exhibits little evidence still of Melton's presence except for the "Bottom Line" basement game room with a red pool table, a glass-fronted cabinet filled with liquor bottles, and a small shrine to Melton sitting amid Christmas lights and holiday greenery. To the left on the shrine shelf sits an undated United Minority Media Association Inc. "Development Award" presented to "Frank E. Melton, President, TV-3 Inc., Jackson, Mississippi" for "National Youth Management." To the right is a framed printout of cartoonist Marshall Ramsey's goodbye cartoon to Melton, along with Melton's city business card and his Jackson Police Department ID signed by then-Chief Shirlene Anderson.

The rectangular pool where he swam daily with his young friends is still a pool room, but his large bedroom right above it has been turned into a meeting room. Today, it was filled with chairs and tables covered with refreshments for the new owner's "grand opening." Melton's neighbor, Joyce Caracci, bought the 6,000-square-foot home several months after Melton's 2009 death from his wife, Dr. Ellen Melton of Texas, and said she plans to hold meetings at the home and use it to present art exhibits. She and her family already own several homes nearby.

The building has been painted, patched, and the expansive front and back yards have undergone landscaping, and a sizable parking lot added across the street in front of the house. Artist Stephen Wrangler, who is exhibiting his work at the home, issued a press statement earlier this week describing the house as "an activity center," which would be a violation of the city's residential zoning ordinance. Caracci said this morning, however, that the renovated building will not violate the city's residential zoning ordinance because it will be the site of private events.

The city, however, is concerned that the owners have not gone through the proper channels for their planned facility. "The owners may have had some conversations with the city, but this is a residential zoned property, and any violation of that would be inappropriate," city spokesman Chris Mims told the Jackson Free Press. "A multi-purpose activity center, no matter how low key, is still a violation of the residential zoning of the area."


Joyce Caracci said today that the building's use will not violate the parameters of its residential zoning status because the building will not be a public building or operate as a business.

"The gravel parking lot will not be a public parking lot," Caracci said. "It will be a parking lot for my friends and guests. The public will not use it, and I don't think that was made clear to the city. People got the wrong impression. A news release that was sent in by the artist caused some confusion. He used some words that led them to think otherwise."

Caracci's son, Vic Caracci, who is a co-owner of Sta-Home Health Agency, told the Jackson Free Press Thursday that his mother had worked out the city's numerous issues with the usage of the home: "We talked with the city this week," he said.
 This morning, apparent Sta-Home Health employees helped host the open house, which allowed visitors to go to all levels of the home.

Mims, however, said yesterday that the owners had merely applied for overdue construction permits this week hours after the city issued a stop work order for renovating the home.



"Yesterday, they applied for permits for all the renovations they've been making, but there are some other issues. I think they installed an elevator. ... We also discovered that there are some adjoining lots that have been purchased by this individual, and one of those lots is being covered with gravel to create a parking lot. If that is the case, then that is a clear zoning violation."



Caracci said his mother is not looking to be a burden on the city or neighbors, but she does not understand the construction process.

Mims said the city will continue to monitor the use of the building.