City Council

CITY OF POCATELLO, IDAHO TOWN HALL MEETING JULY 9, 2013 The Town Hall Meeting was called to order at 6:05 p.m. by Mayor Brian Blad. Council members present were Craig Cooper and Gary Moore. Council members Roger Bray, Steve Brown, Jim Johnston and Eva Johnson Nye were excused. Mayor Blad welcomed everyone, explained the format for the evening and introduced Police Sergeant Ron Knapp and Code Enforcement Officer Mary Rasmussen. Officer Rasmussen discussed the City’s minimum standards for property maintenance and the primary concerns of paint, weeds, etc. Once a complaint is received, officers conduct an investigation and make contact with the property owner about any violations. Owners are given a specific time period to resolve the problem or work with the officers for additional time. Officers are willing to work with those who need time to acquire supplies/materials or need time due to weather conditions. If a property owner does not make contact with officers or refuses to take care of the violation, a citation will be issued. Officer Rasmussen mentioned they average 800 cases per year but only about 2% of cases result in citations. She explained going to court is a lengthy procedure and can be frustrating for all involved. Officer Rasmussen stressed the City’s procedure is complaint driven. However while conducting an inspection, officers will survey the immediate area for similar concerns or obvious violations. She also noted that once an issue is resolved officers will not automatically re-inspect that address for problems in the future. Code enforcement officers will keep citizens apprised of the cases they report if citizens leave contact information and request to be updated. Citizens are also welcome to call the officers for an update. Al Tetz, 29 Colgate Street, asked why Pocatello has a complaint driven system. He believed code enforcement and police officers should investigate anytime they see a property maintenance problem and give property owners a warning. He doesn’t feel the City should rely on citizens to make complaints. He encouraged the City to use police officers if needed and/or fund part-time TOWN HALL MEETING 2 JULY 9, 2013 enforcement officers during the summer. He also stated he has not seen resolution to complaints he has submitted in two years. Officer Rasmussen stated the City’s two code enforcement officers do the best they can. If they see major violations while in an area, they do stop and address it but handling complaint based violations takes up their time. Mayor Blad explained that using police officers was not the best solution as they are busy doing their work. Sgt. Knapp said police officers serve the citations for code enforcement violations, but they are not trained on property maintenance issues. He has started accompanying the code enforcement officers when citations are served to help explain issues and talk to violators. Mike Theiring, 1054 North Hayes Avenue, gave the history of the Old Town Neighborhood Association. He recognized there is part of the population that does not take responsibility for their property. He mentioned cases that have not been resolved as far back as 2009. As a citizen, he wants serious, effective code enforcement and asked that the City consider a third officer. Mayor Blad explained the City had three code enforcement officers, but the third position was eliminated about six or seven years ago. The City’s procedure became more complaint driven rather than pro-active at that point. He also agreed that neighborhood involvement was important. Officer Rasmussen mentioned that the code enforcement officers used to speak at neighborhood meetings, and it seemed to her that volunteer groups came out to help people more in the past than now. She said that the difficult property maintenance cases should be the City’s responsibility, but neighbors used to work together on smaller issues. Rick Cook, 301 Kurtwood, expressed his concern about code enforcement letters being sent to the wrong addresses. He received someone else’s letter and the letter meant for him went to the wrong address. He was also concerned that the City does not take care of its properties. Mayor Blad apologized that the City was not maintaining its property. He asked citizens to report any issues they see. TOWN HALL MEETING 3 JULY 9, 2013 Betsey Hale, 1005 North Garfield Avenue, expressed frustration with a situation in her neighborhood that has been ongoing for four years. She is concerned about the value of her property. Officer Rasmussen explained that this situation was unique and finding a resolution had been difficult. The current owner lives out-of-town and inherited the property but does not want it. The owner has been trying to give it to the bank, but the bank won’t accept it. However, the bank is paying the taxes, so the property can’t go for tax sale. The City’s Legal and Police Departments have been working to figure out a way to help change the ownership and are working with an interested party. In the meantime, the owner has tried to make some basic repairs and has received a citation. At this time, the Police Department does not believe jailing the property owner for not taking care of the violations would solve the issue. The owner is indigent and jail time would not make a difference. Mayor Blad explained that going to court prolongs the process, which is why the code enforcement officers try to work with property owners. He also stated that if a bank won’t foreclose and quickly sell the property we have problems. Randy Dixon, 2164 Cassia, used to live in Old Town but moved due to property maintenance issues. He said he tried to use the process to report issues and found the City’s website was a good resource. He stated that abatement should be the topic we are discussing. While Pocatello has chosen not to use this method, other cities are finding abatement to be successful. He believed abatement was crucial. Mayor Blad mentioned that the Valley Pride organization asked the City to implement an abatement program. During the Fiscal Year 2014 budget meetings, the Council agreed to set aside money for an abatement program, and if the budget was approved, the money would be available as of October 1, 2013. The Mayor also discussed Valley Pride’s Harrison Avenue project last year. They organized a week-long project with 364 volunteers to help homeowners clean up nine blocks. The City made repairs to the street and curbing. It appeared the project has made a difference for that neighborhood but has not inspired other neighborhoods to do the same thing. Cathy Wright, 545 South 6th Avenue, did not think property maintenance enforcement was the responsibility of neighborhood TOWN HALL MEETING 4 JULY 9, 2013 associations. She also disagreed that the associations have declined and believed they were just as strong. Mayor Blad agreed that difficult issues, such as absentee landlord issues, should be handled by the City. However, he felt neighborhood associations could make a difference. The Mayor thanked Officer Rasmussen and Sgt. Knapp for their time and invited comments on other topics. Mike Wilson, 337 South Hayes Avenue, reported having more than property maintenance issues in his neighborhood. There have been theft issues, as well as trespassing, which have been reported, but nothing has been done. Mayor Blad asked Mr. Wilson to leave his contact information so the Police Department could follow up with him. The Mayor will also have Street Operations contact him about the alleyway. Bob Wallace, 429 North Garfield Avenue, commented that the fact these issues exist showed that some people do not care what their neighbors think. This was the domain of government to keep people from infringing on each other’s rights. He asked the City to protect his and others’ property rights. Elaine Jacobsen, 1150 North Grant Avenue, asked about specific plans for the abatement program and its budget. She wondered how decisions would be made and complaints prioritized. She said there was a fear that people would move from older neighborhoods because codes were not being enforced, which would create other issues. Mayor Blad explained that a specific plan for the abatement program had not been developed but was underway. A small amount of funding was tentatively budgeted by the Council in June, and staff hoped to have a plan ready by October when the funding was available. He said the money would probably be used on a first come, first served basis for problem properties like the one in Ms. Hale’s neighborhood. Officer Rasmussen stated the City’s property maintenance codes must be changed first to allow for abatement, and the Legal Department was working on the codes. She explained officers would continue to work cases as they do now, meaning they would seek voluntary compliance. Only when there was no other remedy would they use the abatement program. She said it would take TOWN HALL MEETING 5 JULY 9, 2013 time to make the abatement program successful and self- sufficient. The City hopes the program will begin to fund itself so additional tax dollars do not have to be used. C.W. Cullen, 711 North 6th Avenue, expressed his concern about snow on sidewalks during the winter, especially along Yellowstone Avenue. He asked how many tickets were written in the business district for failure to remove snow. He also discussed traffic enforcement and asked what revenue the City receives from traffic tickets. Officer Rasmussen replied that the City did not issue any citations for failure to remove snow from sidewalks. Police Chief Scott Marchand stated the City receives less than 5% of a fine imposed by the Bannock County Court. There being no further business Mayor Blad adjourned the meeting at 7:04 p.m. APPROVED: BRIAN C. BLAD, MAYOR ATTEST: RUTH E. WHITWORTH, CMC, CITY CLERK PREPARED BY: ANNE NICHOLS, CAP-OM, ASSISTANT TO THE MAYOR