Notes of Fire committee meeting, July 8, 2013 to discuss Code Enforcement.
Meeting called to order by Clay at 6:31 p.m. Present were Clay Loosen, Lou Rother, Doyle
Province, Brent Wilkinson, Verlin Bills,
Noelle, Linda Barrett, Andy Barrett, and Robert Daugherty. Mary Larson and Edna Justice arrived a few
minutes after the meeting started.
Clay asked Brent Wilkinson to conduct the meeting. Brent
reviewed the code enforcement procedures, asked Robert what his process
was. Daugherty said he visits sites on both the east and west sides of town,
working North; he takes photos; figures
out who owns the property that is in violation (grass and weeds), then sends out a Certified Mail letter advising of
the violation. He said many of the
letters are returned unclaimed, and that he wasn’t sure what the next step
would be. Linda Barrett noted that the
next step is to post the notice letter on the door of the building for 10 days
according to the City Code. (I had
a copy of the Code with me; if the owner doesn’t respond after 10 days, a
citation can be issued with a Court date and the matter will be heard by the Municipal
Judge. ) Robert continued that if the owner still doesn’t take care of the
property, or doesn’t show up for
hearing, then a work order goes to go to Donnie or Marvin (for mowing, clearing
trash, etc.).
Neither Robert nor Clay could answer the question of how
many letters have been sent out yet, but Clay said “a stack this big” and
indicated about two inches with his hand.
Clay said “he’s only been on the job for two months, let’s give the guy
a chance.”
Verlin Bills asked how many hours Robert is supposed to
devote to Code Enforcement, and Doyle said he had no set number of hours. His Code enforcement duties are on in
addition to his asst. fire chief duties.
So in other words, the City didn’t “hire” a code enforcer; they gave an
employee the extra duties of a code enforcer and got him certified. He does not get extra pay for being code
enforcer. Robert’s not limited to 40 hours a week. It was
asked what the fines would be for tickets (citations) issued, and Clay
indicated $50.00 - $200 according to
section 1-108 of the City Code.
Lou Rother asked what is going to be done about properties
already condemned. Clay said they are on
a list to be taken care of. Martin is
doing as much as he can, doing the best that he can. He said that last year Martin tore down 13
houses in two weeks. Doyle said it can
take a long time before a property is demolished because Marvin has a “long
list” of properties that need to be taken care of. Doyle said it can take “as
long as 15 years” on some properties, depending on the circumstances (the
property he was referring to was occupied and there were other circumstances
that prevented the city of tearing down the building). Andy asked how many condemned properties are
on the list and Noelle indicated 13. That number was repeated by Clay. C
Clay said he had met that morning with John Massey, Dan
Webber, and Robert Daugherty to review the ordinances and go through the
process. They all agreed , and it was
Dan’s suggestion according to Clay, that
Robert can write a ticket (citation, summons) and mail it to the owner
after sending the 10-day notice letter. Clay said this can be a long process and a
lot of paperwork. Someone asked if we
could get a report of progress from Robert and he said “yes”. Doyle said he couldn’t find the state statute
on Code Enforcement and questioned whether or not a Certified Mail letter was
sufficient notice.
Discussion then turned to giving Robert a “priority list” of
what code enforcement he should do. Clay
indicated weeds and grass first, trash in yards 2nd, cars third, and
then dilapidated properties. Clay
mentioned that prior to getting Robert certified as Code Enforcer, the city
didn’t legally have a code enforcer, even though Marvin, Donnie, Mark Huff and
police chief Massey acted as code enforcers during that time.
There was discussion of not focusing on a specific side of
town to avoid residents feeling like they are being profiled. It was agreed that Robert needs to achieve
a “balance” as to the properties he visits and cites. He’ll try to get a report to City Council
monthly. Edna said she wasn’t as
concerned about getting a report as she was about just getting the job done,
that Robert write tickets for violators.
Edna asked if the City needed to hire part-time clerical help for
Robert, and Doyle said he didn’t think so because the City Clerk is helping
with the paperwork. She asked if we have
such a backload, do we need a full-time code enforcer? Doyle said “I don’t think we are there
yet.” He suggested that could be an
issue considered next year at budget time.
It was pointed out that there are many buildings in town
that are unoccupied, abandoned, open to the elements and are fire and safety
hazards, and have already been condemned by the City. Verlin asked about “where do I draw the line”
about deciding what properties to cite and turn over to Marvin for demolition. He expressed concern that when one person
gets a citation, that person will ask “why isn’t my neighbor getting a ticket
when his grass is just as high.” Doyle
said that Verlin is the chief safety officer and that code enforcement was at
Verlin’s determination as to how he prioritizes properties to cite and
condemn. There was lots of discussion
about properties that have already been condemned as a safety hazard but are
still standing, not boarded up and open to the elements and children. It was suggested that the owners of these
properties be issued citations and assessed fines as our city Code provides . Verlin Bills noted that one such property is
“ready to be torn down” but Marvin has concerns about the structural integrity
of the building it is attached to, so nothing is going to be done. That wasn’t sufficient explanation for the
people attending the meeting and it was suggested that citations be
issued. When the matter becomes a
financial problem for the property owners, they will do something about the
safety condition.
Cars and other junk in yards can be a fire safety hazard and
prevent the fire department from being able to attend to a fire.
Clay said that “ things are different in a small town” and
that “we can’t get away with huge fines.”
People in the audience chimed in and said that laws need to be enforced
in a small town the same as in a large town.
Edna said that we may need to hire a full-time code enforcer
in light of Robert’s time limitations, and Doyle responded that we would need
to consider that at budget time, not at this time after the year’s budget has
already been approved.
When talking about Robert’s
time limitations in being able to be out on the street to look for code
violations, Clay suggested that citizens file complaint forms as a way to help
our Code Enforcer identify properties that need attention. Clay said that would be helpful to
Robert. A complaint form should be completed at the
City Clerk’s office and it then goes to Robert.
In that way it doesn’t look like
the City is “attacking” anyone in particular.
Doyle suggested that an on-line form be set up on the City’s website, so
that a complaint form can be filled out on-line and emailed directly to Robert.
He
suggested that Terri Crawford may be able to help set that up since she manages
the City’s website. Mary said she would
be glad to work with Terri in setting that up.
The Chamber of Commerce will put together a list of service
providers who are willing to mow, clean up yards and haul away trash, and will
make that list available to the public and through Robert Daugherty. The businesses on the list will in no way be
endorsed by the City to avoid liability but the list will be made available
through the Code Enforcer as a service to the community.
Lou noted that we won’t be able to attract people to our
town if it doesn’t get cleaned up, even if we do pass a bond issue for a new
high school.
Clay and all council members present expressed to Verlin and
Robert that they have the full support of the Council in their code enforcement
efforts. The
meeting ended on a comment by Clay that the City will work hard on Code
Enforcement and cleaning up the town.
Submitted by
Linda Barrett
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