July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Junk law may get renovation (10/07/2008)
Portland City Council
By By RACHELLE HAUGHN-
Next time, violators of a Portland junk ordinance may not get a second chance.
A city official made a presentation Monday suggesting the grace period for repeat junk ordinance violations in a year be eliminated.
Memembers of the Portland City Council members seemed to favor the idea.
Bob Sours, chief of Portland police, told council members that the same people are violating city weed control, junk properties and junk vehicle ordinances.
"During the past two years, we (could) just about write the tickets again for the ones next year," Sours said. "And now I think it's probably time to put some teeth in the ordinance and start writing some tickets."
With the current city ordinances, someone is given a warning for a junk property or weed or grass ordinance violation. The property owner then has five to seven days to clean up the property. If that is not done, the property owner is written a ticket and must appear in city court.
If the person repeats the violation after appearing in court and paying a fine, he or she is then issued another warning and there is another waiting period before a ticket is issued. People with junk vehicles have a 72-hour waiting period between when they are given a warning and when they are written a ticket.
Sours suggested that after a property owner goes to city court and pays a fine, a ticket is automatically written for any repeated violations within a 12-month period.
"That'd probably be the easiest way to handle it - the most proficient way to handle it," said council president Bill Gibson. He was the only council member who commented on Sours' suggestions.
Gibson and council member Judy Aker recently submitted proposed changes to the city ordinance for junk properties. Sours' suggestions were proposed as additions to the changes suggested by Aker and Gibson. Council members did not discuss the changes proposed by Aker and Gibson on Monday, which included increasing fines and decreasing the amount of time repeat offenders are given to clean up their properties. Aker did not attend the meeting.
Sours added that each time repeat violators appear in city court, the judge can increase their fines up to $2,500. A typical fine for a first-time violator is $25, he said.
"Our main goal is not to write tickets but to" get properties cleaned up, Sours added.
Bruce Hosier, mayor of the city, asked city attorney Bill Hinkle to draft an amendment to the city ordinances with Sours' suggested changes. The changes could be presented to the council at the next meeting, he said.
Also Monday, council members:
•Set trick-or-treating hours in the city for 6 to 8 p.m. on Halloween - Friday, Oct. 31.
•Learned that the city received its semi-annual draw of property tax revenue on Monday.
The city received a total of $1,078,378.72 in property taxes. Linda Kennedy, the city's clerk-treasurer, said $500,000 borrowed from the city's wastewater treatment plant fund and $25,000 borrowed from the water fund have been repaid. The funds were loaned while the city was waiting on its tax money.
•Approved an amendment to a resolution that will be submitted as part of the city's application for a Brownfield Grant.
The incorrect property for the grant was named in the resolution. The grant application is to assess any environmental issues at the former Bailey building, located at 955 S. Bridge St., Portland. The city is asking for $71,899, Hosier said.
•Learned that a pre-construction meeting for the river path project is expected to be held in the next two weeks.
Hosier said work on the project may start shortly after the meeting, if the companies that make the materials needed for the project have not yet shut down for the winter. The path will start along Meridian Street and run east along River Road, across Wayne Street to a pedestrian bridge across the Salamonie River and into Hudson Family Park. It is being largely funded through a grant from the Indiana Department of Transportation.
•Met new full-time firefighter Mitch Southworth. Monday was his first official day of work. He was sworn in by Hosier on Monday morning.[[In-content Ad]]
A city official made a presentation Monday suggesting the grace period for repeat junk ordinance violations in a year be eliminated.
Memembers of the Portland City Council members seemed to favor the idea.
Bob Sours, chief of Portland police, told council members that the same people are violating city weed control, junk properties and junk vehicle ordinances.
"During the past two years, we (could) just about write the tickets again for the ones next year," Sours said. "And now I think it's probably time to put some teeth in the ordinance and start writing some tickets."
With the current city ordinances, someone is given a warning for a junk property or weed or grass ordinance violation. The property owner then has five to seven days to clean up the property. If that is not done, the property owner is written a ticket and must appear in city court.
If the person repeats the violation after appearing in court and paying a fine, he or she is then issued another warning and there is another waiting period before a ticket is issued. People with junk vehicles have a 72-hour waiting period between when they are given a warning and when they are written a ticket.
Sours suggested that after a property owner goes to city court and pays a fine, a ticket is automatically written for any repeated violations within a 12-month period.
"That'd probably be the easiest way to handle it - the most proficient way to handle it," said council president Bill Gibson. He was the only council member who commented on Sours' suggestions.
Gibson and council member Judy Aker recently submitted proposed changes to the city ordinance for junk properties. Sours' suggestions were proposed as additions to the changes suggested by Aker and Gibson. Council members did not discuss the changes proposed by Aker and Gibson on Monday, which included increasing fines and decreasing the amount of time repeat offenders are given to clean up their properties. Aker did not attend the meeting.
Sours added that each time repeat violators appear in city court, the judge can increase their fines up to $2,500. A typical fine for a first-time violator is $25, he said.
"Our main goal is not to write tickets but to" get properties cleaned up, Sours added.
Bruce Hosier, mayor of the city, asked city attorney Bill Hinkle to draft an amendment to the city ordinances with Sours' suggested changes. The changes could be presented to the council at the next meeting, he said.
Also Monday, council members:
•Set trick-or-treating hours in the city for 6 to 8 p.m. on Halloween - Friday, Oct. 31.
•Learned that the city received its semi-annual draw of property tax revenue on Monday.
The city received a total of $1,078,378.72 in property taxes. Linda Kennedy, the city's clerk-treasurer, said $500,000 borrowed from the city's wastewater treatment plant fund and $25,000 borrowed from the water fund have been repaid. The funds were loaned while the city was waiting on its tax money.
•Approved an amendment to a resolution that will be submitted as part of the city's application for a Brownfield Grant.
The incorrect property for the grant was named in the resolution. The grant application is to assess any environmental issues at the former Bailey building, located at 955 S. Bridge St., Portland. The city is asking for $71,899, Hosier said.
•Learned that a pre-construction meeting for the river path project is expected to be held in the next two weeks.
Hosier said work on the project may start shortly after the meeting, if the companies that make the materials needed for the project have not yet shut down for the winter. The path will start along Meridian Street and run east along River Road, across Wayne Street to a pedestrian bridge across the Salamonie River and into Hudson Family Park. It is being largely funded through a grant from the Indiana Department of Transportation.
•Met new full-time firefighter Mitch Southworth. Monday was his first official day of work. He was sworn in by Hosier on Monday morning.[[In-content Ad]]
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