Decay ordinance questioned by local residents

Plains residents showed their concern for the town’s enforcement of the decay ordinance during this month’s Town Council meeting, which was standing-room only.

Mayor Chris Allen called the meeting to order and reviewed the judge's report. There were 34 new cases, 75 citations issued and 73 active warrants on the books.

Allen next gave his monthly mayor’s report starting with the First Street project to replace water mains and sewer lines, and lay new pavement. The project should be finished in the next few weeks.

Allen next reviewed the loss rate of the town’s water system. Loss rates due to line leakage were down from 24% to the current 18%.

He also reported that the old lagoon sludge cleanup will start soon. Delays have been caused by weight restrictions on roads and the lack of trucking available.

Plains will be hiring a new police officer due to the resignation of Officer Jared Hutchings.

New business this month started off with the recent letters sent out to 17 property owners concerning a violation of the town’s decay ordinance. Plains town attorney Loren Fitzpatrick was on hand to answer questions about the legality of the ordinance.

Public comments and questions started off with Pat Kilgore.

“When somebody has things on their property with no danger to somebody else; I think we are Americans, it’s his property,” he said.

“If I don’t have it cleaned up within 30 days, they can enter my property and do it themselves. There is no court order, no warrant,” Kilgore continued.

"People come to me, they call me and some of them are not polite. They are saying if somebody comes on my property and moves my stuff, they are saying horrible things that are ridiculous. I may disagree with Chris (Mayor Allen) sometimes, but he is the best man for the job.”

Resident Dave Wonder questioned “how far, as a city council, a police chief, fire chief, how far are you willing to go to get compliance with this?”

Several residents expressed their concerns with their children’s safety with the amount and type of items that some property owners have discarded on their land.

Town attorney Fitzpatrick said, “If you don’t want to clean up your property, just build a fence.”

He went on to show photos of those properties that received letters for cleanup.

One of those individuals that received a letter was Joann Mathers.

Mathers said the letter did not state what on her property was in violation of the ordinance. Further discussion revealed that a photo of the items in question was supposed to have been included with the letter.

Fitzpatrick said that those who received the letter have a right to appeal the decision to the Council.

Next on the agenda was the request to the council to include phase two and three of the pickleball court construction. Currently phase one is in progress at the vacant parking area at the pool park. Phase one included three pickleball courts being constructed at the park. Phases two and three would include three additional courts, with two being indoors for winter use.

Spokesperson for the project Shauna Firestone said that before construction could begin, approval for all three phases needed to be approved. The motion was tabled until further information could be obtained.

Allen continued the meeting with a discussion on a new piece of equipment, a vac trailer, which would increase safety for the town road crews and lower man hours needed to preform projects in the various departments. The cost of the one-year-old vac trailer was $80,000. The council approved the purchase.

Last on the agenda was the variance request for construction at the Harvest Church. The variance request was tabled until the town engineer reviewed the requested project.