The town of Watonga was quiet this past weekend. There was no Pioneer Day celebration so the streets were pretty much dead on Saturday. The Farm & Garden market sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce was open for the first time this season but no vendors came with fresh produce, except for some lettuces and salad greens. Several people came by the Armory looking for produce, but with the late freezes we've had this year, not much is available yet. Aubrey Drew, who has been a regular vendor at the Watonga market in the past, said he will probably be here in coming weeks.
It has "only" been five and a half years since the Watonga Cheese Factory was damaged by the remnants of hurricane Erin in 2007, and the City has finally taken a step toward cleaning it up. I shouldn't say "finally", because it has over the past several years sent letter after letter to the owners of the building saying that it was a fire and health hazard and needed to be torn down, and threatening action for violations of City Codes. But through these years the City has failed and refused to enforce the City Code concerning dilapidated buildings and health hazards and has let the dangerous condition stand without penalty to the owner. Why do we have codes on the books if the City isn't going to enforce them?
Now the City has obtained title to the property formerly known as the Cheese Factory. Let's see how long it takes them to finally do something about the dangerous and ugly situation. A complaint recently sent to the Oklahoma Attorney General about the City's failure to enforce codes in Watonga may get their attention and prompt some action!
No comments:
Post a Comment