Code enforcement dominates the Kidder Board of Aldermen meeting
In a meeting of all meetings, the Kidder City Council, took 1-1/2 hours to make a decision on two issues. After three plus hours of listening to the ramblings on of code enforcement, attendees finally floundered out to their vehicles in pitch dark to return home at a time past most bedtimes.
The first issue involved opening up an existing road on a piece of property bought by Ray Carlton of T & R Recovery & Tow. Carlton wanted to move the vehicles off his residence to the property and build a fence partially around the area. The road was not being maintained by the city and a large tree had fallen across it which Carlton said the city should remove. He also wanted a tube put in at the entrance to his drive. Clerk Richard Evans said that if Carlton wanted to put in a tube to access his property that would be OK, but he felt it was not the city’s responsibility to have to pay to put it in and the city had no reason to open the road. “It’s a private entrance to a private business,” said Evans. Carlton argued that if someone wanted to buy the other lots on the property, they would need access to them. He said the city took the tube out in the first place and felt they should have to replace it. Mayor Bauer advised that before a culvert could be installed, it had to be approved by the State. He also felt that the city could not land lock Carlton’s property by refusing to maintain a city road. Taking the advice of the city’s code enforcement officer, Lucille Lusk, the subject was tabled to another meeting, until such time that the council can discuss the matter with their city attorney to determine the legal aspects as to whether the city is obligated to maintain the road.
Clerk Evans addressed the council about his concerns in regard to the number of vehicles parked in the residential areas of town. Evans said, “There are 50 vehicles from business owners within three blocks of each other in the residential part of town. When is enough going to be enough in regard to vehicle related business exemptions?” Evans said that with a 20% growth in population from the last census, perhaps the city of Kidder should consider zoning.
The second issue brought before the board was the approval of a building permit for Charlie Pugh to build a fourplex in town. It was determined that along with the building permit, a separate permit was needed for the inspection and a fee for this had not yet been established by the City of Kidder. This needed to be done before the building permit could be approved. Pugh intends to use well water and said the cost for using the sewer should be estimated as done with other residences in town. The council decided to go along with previous decisions and a plan was approved to run four lines into one 6” sewer stub with separate shut-offs at each unit. Melvin McFee, the city’s water/sewer superintendent, would be the designated inspector and a fee of $35 would be charged.
Alderman Dave McEwen wanted to review fees for noncompliance of ordinances and suggested the city raise fees $75 each time they had to reissue a complaint. McEwen said the time spent by code enforcement should be covered by fees paid by people who are noncompliant. Code Enforcement Officer, Lucille Lusk said, “If you value the code enforcement solely on the money it brings in then you need to fire us, because you will never bring in the money to pay for it. If what you want is to clean up and make a difference, we may be worth it,” adding that code enforcement is not a revenue making entity. Clerk Evans reminded everyone that the ordinances were made because the majority of the people in town wanted to clean up the town. Dave McEwen agreed to draft a new schedule of revised fees to propose to the board.
A building permit was approved by the board for Ken Anderson’s single family home with the stipulation on the back that it’s pending a sewer permit at a fee of $35.
In her report of code enforcement, Lusk said that she kept hearing that code enforcement has accomplished nothing and that has been a frustration to her. She presented a violation notice and outcome report to the board that showed the work that was in the process of being done. Lusk said that code enforcement has to go through several steps before they can abate a property to get things cleaned up. There are timelines that are set and they have to be followed, and even when timelines are followed, it may take several weeks before you are at the point of issuing a violation notice. If it goes to court which is typically held every other month, it may take even more weeks depending upon the court date. “You cannot make this an instant process and stay within the law,” said Lusk. She said if you take money solely from violations, the city has not come out even, but a lot of properties have been cleaned up that otherwise would still need attention. You also have to consider the back taxes that have been collected.
The board passed Bill 10-13-2016 to correct building permit language, reoccurring costs and payments to revise maintenance compensation and specified mileage for code enforcement services and related matters.
The board agreed to revise an ordinance on cats by removing all reference to them with the exception of those cats that are a public nuisance and allowing for impoundment. The board agreed that dogs are required to be on a leash if they are off their premise.
A citizen was interested in buying some 12” tubes the city had on hand. The board agreed to find out what the value is and get back with him.
