By Pauline Masson –
For Alderman Debbie Kelley it was a simple change in city government to place code enforcement procedures under the city administrator and staff.
After losing her first bid to make the change to a 3-3 tie and a ‘no’ vote from Mayor Heather Filley Sept. 5, Alderman Kelley repeated her motion to bring the code enforcement department to its former place as part of the building deparment in the administration offices on the upper level of the government center.
With an articulate and empassioned plea at Tuesday’s board meeting, Kelley said under the current assignment to the police department citizens were not being treated farily.
“Our idea on this whole thing was to better our community, whether it was to develop things or help people fix up, not to stress them out any more than they already are financially,” she said.
The goal in settling isssues involving citizens was to work together.
“We’ve lost touch with that,” she said. I think its time we move code enforcement back upstairs where they can be part of our community.”
“We would have more people here tonight but they’re afraid of being harrassed afterwards,” she said.
The discussion was introduced by Mayor Heather Filley.
Alderman Scott Lesh, acting president of the board, read a two and a third page letter from retired Army Major Michael D. Pierce on the topic, calling for the change and detailing the challenges he had faced as police addressed alleged code violations on property he has owned for 20 years.
Pierce urged officials to make the move.
“Police resources are critical to maintaining safety and seucrity . . . not resolving issues around height of grass, determining whether the collection of one man’s treasure should be interpreted as another man’s junk, or if a person on hard times is living in a camper on his family’s private property,” Pierce said.
He said after Pilot Truck Stop was built his property became a collection point for garbage and human waste thrown out by passing truckers.
“The only interest the city took was to send an occasional warning letter to where I was servig in the Army in Germany saying my grass was too high. I would get it mowed, or I would pay the city to do it,” he said.
A relative put a camper on the property this spring for a cousin who cleared the property of years of trash, mowed the grass and painted the remaining bulding. Despite the transformation he was notified that his cousin could not live on the property and the trailer had to go.
Despite making progress it was never enough. Code enforcment had the police to the property multiple times.
“The city is using some of its most critical resources by having police officers monitor and harass people because they were staying in a camper. The bottom line is this is not a police issue,” he said.
Former Alderman Rick Layton said code enforcement has been silent on a blatant violation on Lisa Lane at Indian Warpath Drive. He questioned what code enforcement was involved when a contractor for a senior housing structure being built on Lisa Lane installed a chain link fence to block off the sidewalk in front of the construction site forcing high school students walking to and from school to walk in the street.
Police Chief Melies responded that because the construction was behind the fence it did not come under the purview of code enforcement.
“I talked to the superintendent and he said there were reasons for that fence being there. It related to the sidewalk being torn out, water mains and electric being put in and things like that,” Chief Melies said. “Give us a chance to look at it and Mr. (Robert) Brueggemann or somebody who is familiar with the building permit can get back to you about when lines go in and when they tore out the concrete.”
Layton shot back.
“If they can’t develop something in this city by putting a fence three feet on the inside of the sidewalk, they don’t need to develop here,” he said.
Layton also pressed to know if citations were written for code violations or any traffic tickets had been written on vehicles parked adjacent to no parking at any time signs.
Layton demanded to know when he could have questions about approval of the project answered. Mayor Heather Filley said he could not be given a timeline.
“There are many departments involved in this and individuals who have other responsibilities we have to talk to.,” she said. ”But you will get an answer.”
City Administrator Harold Selby showed that he is an old hand at the code enforcement issue by taking a proactive approach to nuisance and violations, saying under his office the entire scope of city departments could be used to persuade property owners to clear up violations.
Selby said he could see both former alderman Rick Layton’s call for tougher code enforcement and Michael Pierce’s request for the city to create code enforcement practices that could clear up violations without punishing property owners.
“I looked at our city nuisance code that was passed August 2010. Many hours went into this. We talked with many people and that helped us do things like those weeds. You notice he (Pierce) said back then ‘I paid the city to cut the grass,’ Selby said. “Our nuisance code, which says that if a property owner doesn’t abate the nuisance within seven days of being notified the city can cause the violation to be abated and recover its cost with a special tax bill. We put it on their taxes.”
He read a section of the city code that gives aldermen the power to create rules that define nuisances and what the city can do to correct them.
“You have the power,” he said.
“Here’s why I think, really, that person needs to come up stairs. We, as administration, can do these things where the police department either can’t or don’t know how because they keep sending it to the municipal courts,” he said. “If it came up here, we have the power in administration to do things now, within seven days.”
He said he recently attended a Problem Properties Committee meeting.
“Some of these properties have been there for years, with the oldest being 2017. I brought up the Community Development Block Grant for demolition of problem properties, such as the abandoned trailers on Western or these houses that have had fires in them.
“I don’t think the police dpeartment will write a CDBG grant to tear down some of these building,” he said.
“Getting on the side of what Alderman Kelley said, you guys represent these people in these areas where these things are going on,” he said. “So sometimes if we get a complaint . . . we could talk to you and say, ‘do you know this person in your ward,’ and say what’s the problem here, and you can help figure out a solution. You actually know the person where if a police officer walks up to the door they may not have that direct contact with the constituency that you guys have.”
In the end Kelley’s motion to move code enforcement upstairs, with a second by Lesh got unanimous approval for the move.
The Police Chief’s initial request way back a few months was so he could take ‘quick, emergency action on certain code violations’, because Code Enforcement moved to slow. This was an an apparent smoke screen to up his ‘ harassment campaign against certain ‘ problem people’. He even stated “I will be at any committee or BOA meeting where this will be discussed”. After this last vote he sat there looking like a child who had his last candy bar taken away by the town bully. He needs to concentrate on porch pirates, trailer and car thieves’, speeding cars and motorcycles and those selling drugs around the school kids.
Also, building up moral in the ranks would go a long way in fostering officer retention a good salary is sometimes not enough.