City making changes to toughen code enforcement

Poplar Bluff is making changes to strengthen enforcement and improve regulations designed to help clean up neighborhoods, city manager Mark Massingham said this week.

Some members of an advisory board created to help come up with ideas to improve the city recently questioned why the process isn’t stronger already.

There are some members of the city council who agree what is being done with code enforcement right now is not working, council member at-large Ron Black said during a meeting last week of the residential housing advisory board.

“I don’t think you could point a finger at any one place or point, but somehow the combination of what we’re doing together is not working. There’s got to be some changes somewhere,” he said.

The comments were made as the board discussed coordinating with Sikeston officials to learn more about how improvements had been made there.

Sikeston city officials have been clear that in order for the process to be effective, every link in the chain has to be connected, said advisory board member Greg West.

“It is not just one piece of it. It all has to work in harmony,” West said.

Some of that comes down to the city manager holding people responsible, Black said.

Black is exactly right, Massingham said this week.

“I have been more involved in the last couple of months than previously,” he said. “We are meeting more often and discussing problems and trying to come up with solutions to clean up the town.

“It didn’t get this way overnight and it’s going to take time to make a difference, but I think we are headed in the right direction.”

New city planner Matt Winters will also start being more involved with code enforcement, Massingham said.

“City Planner Matt Winters will be working with Deputy (Police) Chief Donnie Trout and the two Code Enforcement officers more closely and working on ideas to help alleviate some of the problems,” Massingham said.

Winters is also working on a grant for demolition of derelict houses he said this month at the first meeting of the city’s new Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority was held.

“This board will be used to clean up some blighted areas of town, both commercial and residential,” Massingham said. “This is a board that was approved by the voters in 1970 and then never formed. This is something other cities use and I am hoping this will be another tool for the city to use.”

West commented during the advisory board meeting that there are a lot of city codes already in place that haven’t been used.

A perfect example of that, he said, is code related to derelict vehicles. The code, as he understands it, West said, allows the city to remove a derelict vehicle seven days after a warning is issued. At the direction of the police chief, the city can tow the vehicle and store it for 30 days. If not reclaimed by the owner, it can be disposed of, he said.

There were about a dozen notices that had been issued to the owners of derelict vehicles prior to the advisory board meeting.

West and Black said those violations should be resolved by the board’s next meeting Feb. 14.

“I don’t think we need to kick this can down the road as far as whose in charge of it six months. I think that we should have resolution a lot sooner than that,” West said.

Code enforcement was given a list of derelict vehicles and has done a great job of getting those vehicles taken care of, Massingham said, adding the owner has 10 days to take care of the vehicle.

“If the vehicle is not removed, then the city has the option of going on the property and removing the vehicle. But the city will need a warrant from a judge to do so,” he said.

The city would need to move vehicles to a secured location at a local tow yard, where the cost would be $50 per day for storage fees, Massingham said.

“It is much better to work with the individual to remove the vehicle themselves. But the answer is yes, we are enforcing the ordinance,” he said.

Problems with a city’s ability to enforce code regulations also occur because of legislation passed in 2015 that limit what municipal courts can do, Massingham said. These are issues faced statewide, he continued.

“The code officers can take (people) to court and the judge can fine them, but that doesn’t mean the code violation is going to be cleaned up,” Massingham said. “The best alternative is to work with the individual to get the violation removed.”

Winters has said the city has about 200 properties that would meet the definition of derelict or vacant. The city has spent between $4,500-$12,000 per property for demolition and removal in recent months through grant money and city funds.

Some progress has been seen, according to the planning department, including at a home in the 800 block of Poplar. The property was fire damaged and a new owner has since begun renovations that have significantly improved the house, they said.

Issues with four derelict vehicles had also been resolved by the owners, Winters said.