Alger moves to condemn properties

ALGER — The Alger council introduced an ordinance Monday night which would give it legal authority to hire a building inspector and condemn properties in the village.
The inspector would be appointed by council, according to the ordinance, which was given its first of three readings.
“The council may authorize and direct the mayor of Alger, the Alger fire chief, any council member or anyone else the council deems appropriate to make inspections to determine the condition of dwellings, dwelling units, rooming houses, rooming units, commercial buildings and premises located within the Village of Alger in order that they may perform their duty to safeguard the health and safety of the occupants of the dwelling and of the general public,” according to the new regulation.
That inspector, if the ordinance is approved, then has the authority to “enter, examine and survey at any reasonable hour all dwellings ….. with the permission of the owner, lessee or person in possession thereof. Upon refusal of such owner, lessee or person in possession to give the inspector access to such places, the inspector shall obtain a search warrant for such purposes.”
In the event, the inspector determines a building is dangerous, unsafe or hazardous, the owner of the property will be given written notice from the inspector which will identify the repairs needed to make the building safe and habitable. The owner will be given a reasonable time to address the problems or “suffer the structure to be demolished or repaired by an agent of the village.”
The cost of repair or razing would then be assessed to the owner’s property taxes or the village has the legal authorization to sue the property owner to recover the expense to the village.
A second reading of the ordinance is expected to be presented to council at its July 2 reading.
Council had sent letters to some residents requiring them to address nuisances on their properties. Hubert Judy was one of the people who received a letter from council and objected to their findings.
“I have a problem with all this,” said Judy. “You send me a letter, but you don’t stop and tell me what you want cleaned up. There are a lot worse places than mine.”
After discussion, council decided Judy’s name should be removed from the nuisance list.
“That was the point of this meeting, to allow people to come in and let us know if we were looking at things wrong and I was,” said Councilwoman Jennifer Dye.
In other business, council:
- Reminded residents brush will be picked up by the village crew on Thursdays. The cuttings must be three inches or less in diameter and no longer than four feet.
- Learned the air conditioner in the village building needs replaced. Council hopes it will last until next year.
- Created a position for a part-time employee of the board of public affairs. The new workers will read the meters at the water and sewer plant and will be paid $7.75 an hour for ten hours a week.
- Discussed contacting representatives of the HOBY program in hopes of participating next summer.

By DAN ROBINSON
Times staff writer

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Posted by Kenton Times on June 19, 2012. Filed under Local News,Recent Headlines. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry