Roachdale council sets plans for future action

ROACHDALE -- As the hearing authority for vacant building cases, a role that was established last month, the Roachdale town council can no longer give owners their own complaints and letters.

That won't stop them from cleaning up the town as they discussed further measures to move forward with the process at Tuesday night's monthly meeting.

They will start by focusing on the five biggest offenders, then go from there.

"It all starts with a vote authorizing enforcement by all of us," attorney Dave Peebles said. "It may take more than just one letter. It's a process."

The "us" are town officials such as Peebles, Marshal Mike Mahoy and any other town employees that are not on the board.

They will begin the process with letters, which will allow the town to prove in court that they have been "on the ball," Peebles said, showing a long series of interest.

There are two routes these complaints can go: Nuisance and unsafe building.

Nuisance are given to just the person directly at fault. In most cases, this is the homeowner. These are typically served for eyesores via a citation from the marshal.

Unsafe building citations are given to everyone involved: the owner, the mortgage company and anyone else with interest in the real estate.

These can be given for a variety of issues ranging from structural problems to broken windows. There is often a fine for each problem, but the council has not set specifics yet.

Once the council gets everything in order from there end, they can move forward with tearing down the vacant buildings.

"The most important vote is: to knock it down or not?" Peebles said.

In other business the town made several purchases. The most expensive was a new John Deere X720 lawn mower with a 62" deck.

This will replace an older mower the town had that recently stopped working due to a broken transmission.

After trading in the broken one, the new mower will cost $7,050. It will be usable year round as it can be converted for snow removal.

The town council also voted to give waste water treatment operator Clint Anglin a $2 per hour raise, effective at the beginning of the next pay period.

Anglin recently finished his first year on the job and is now waste water certified.

"I'm enjoying it and I'm hoping to keep improving," Anglin said.

Next month's meeting is scheduled for Aug. 14 and the council will discuss, among other things, an ordinance to ban engine braking of semis in the town.