04-27-05 Council Workshop Minutes

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MINUTES CITY COUNCIL APRIL 27, 2005 felt that the Sheriff's time can be better spent addressing other law enforcement issues. The City Administrator indicated that staff would like the Council's reaction on the approach that the code enforcement is taking. He again reiterated both the reactive and proactive philosophies and noted the packeC of sample enforcement letters that are utilized. Allan asked the timeline for removal of junk cars. The Code Enforcement Officer indicated that she will initially give a vehicle owner I S days to address the problem. If the owner is working proactively toward compliance, that timeline might be extended. Allan noted that sometimes it seems to take several months to a year before a citation is issued. Allan felt that timeline was too long. The Code Enforcement Officer reported that she extends timelines for those individual who are working toward compliance and are making progress. Blesener felt the Code Enforcement Officer should be allowed to use discretion in extending deadlines. LaValle felt that the Code Enforcement Officer has done a great job. He also deferred to the City Administrator's theory for how involved Che Sheriff's Department should be in code enforcement. He pointed out, however, that the Sheriff's Department is not that busy that they could not drive Chrough the parking lots of the apartment complexes in the City and identify junk vehicles and report those findings to the Code Enforcement Officer. The City Administrator noted Chat this issue has been discussed with the Sheriff's Department in the past; and while some efforts have been made, they have not been consistent. The Administrator indicated that while the day squad is not overly busy, the afternoon squad is. He also pointed out the Sheriff's Department's policy of having two squads respond to calls thereby limiting Cheir overall availability. The Administrator felt that Che Code Enforcement Officer has the ability to address the junk vehicle problem on a consistent basis. The Code Enforcement Officer indicated that she had the time to address these violations, and pointed out that she will be starting a sweep of apartment parking lots to ensure that parking spaces are not taken up by junk vehicles. It was the consensus of the Council that the Code Enforcement Officer should be responsible forjunk vehicle enforcement as recommended by the City Administrator. The City Administrator reported that status of code enforcement efforts relative to the Winner property at 3032 Centerville Road. It is anticipated that Mr. Winner will be released from jail on May 6`h, and strong efforts will continue to get this property cleaned up. If the property owner does