Trash all over the yard and where is the city code enforcement officer
Someone in my neighborhood refuses to haul off their bags of garbage!
I’m talking lots of garbage! It sits in their garage for months on end.
A year and a half ago, when their garage would no longer contain it, I complained to my City Code Enforcement Officer. It took six months of calling him every week to finally get something done. And then, only after going over his head, did something happen. Six months, and no fines were levied. In the end, it took 2 construction sized dumpsters to hold over 130 bags of trash! How many of those 130 bags of trash were put in the garage after my first complaint?
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In June, I paid a visit to my City Office, as once again there are trash bags in, and around the garage, and junk cars in the driveway. Even after weekly calls to ensure that my City Code Enforcement Officer is working on my complaint, five weeks have gone by with no result. And just as before, he gives them more time, and all I get is the run around.
What does it take to get our city codes enforced? Why do we have city codes, if no one is going to enforce them? After receiveing a letter from the city stating a code violation, the resident is given adequate time to resolve the problem, before fines are issued. Why threaten fines, if they aren’t issued when terms of the letter are not met?
When I call my City Code Enforcement Officer, the problem should be resolved without me calling back every week.
Maybe people would show more respect for our city codes if they knew they were going to be enforced.
Desiree Hartwick
Huntingburg
I feel for you. I remember that Jasper used to really take pride in the town and it looked so pretty. It seems in the last 10/12 years that Jasper has taken a nose dive. At one time they would never allow a piece of property to go to pot. Just look at that apartment building on 36th street, a pool that is empty and when it rains the water sits for days allowing mosquitoes to over populate the area. Look at the old Jasper Cabinet building, broken windows and making our river walk look like trash. For those that haven't noticed even our brochures that are published hide the embarrassing Jasper Cabinet building by photo-shopping it out of the brochure they put out about the train. The city leaders in our towns need to start doing their jobs.
I agree with you. City employees need to be held accountable for not getting their jobs done. Take a drive around Huntingburg, there are several sites in town not up to city code. Most of them have been that way for a long time. Know thru talking to people that attend city meetings that there have been numerous complaints about specific areas, but yet nothing seems to get done.
Seems to be a major problem all over Dubois County. Why are we paying department heads for not doing their jobs. I can look off my back porch and see 3 junk vehicles and they can be seen from the street. Complained about an abandoned house down the street, even sent photos, took forever to get weeds halfway cut. He is still aware of the empty house but front porch is dump site and weeds still grow. Why complain–nothing will be done. Seems not to be just code enforcement, Huntingburg city park leans the same way. Have tried to donate to them twice in the last ten years leaving the option open to park dept. head as to what and how he wanted to do it. Guess what — never got a response from him. Called a park board member only to be told I could go to a meeting and complain but nothing would be done.
Since it is trash and there could be health concerns (ie mice, rats, bucgs), try the county health department. Just might get better results.
Tried calling the Health Dept last time we had this issue. They told me that it was a concern for the city and that there was nothing that they could do. ??
I hold the same opinion of the city codes. Our city governments are not doing their jobs and if I were you, I would visit the next City Council meeting. Everything is recorded, replayed on the Jasper station, and summaries are available in print. Go to these meetings and start holding our elected officials accountable! We put them there to do a job and keep our community functional, safe, and clean…help to make sure they do what they were elected to do.
If my letter does not get the results I am seeking, attending a city meeting is next on my list. Did talk to the ciy office today and they did issue a fine this morning. They also told me that if the mess and cars are not gone by Thursday at 8am the fine would increase and the cars would be tagged and hauled away by the city next Tuesday. If the trash remains, the fines would continue to increase until the mess is cleaned up. Hoping to see some action!!
Just wanted to update the current status. Trash has been removed and the cars have also been taken care of also. Lets hope it sticks this time.
Thank you to the Citizen's Advisory Board in Huntingburg for the work they are doing to bring this issue to the forefront. It only takes a few homeowners neglecting their responsibilities to make the entire community appear to not care. I for one support your efforts.