Cleaning up properties

ST. MARYS - Officials hope to address safety issues reported in some rental properties by beefing up a city law regarding dangerous buildings.

City council members and administrators have reportedly received multiple complaints about rental properties, specifically about landlords providing inadequate heating systems and refusing to fix plumbing systems that haven't been properly tied into the sewer system.

City law director Zach Ferrall said some local cities that have grappled with similar issues have created bureaucrat-heavy solutions, such as landlord registries. Before taking such an extensive step, though, city officials will try to strengthen an existing ordinance dealing with dangerous buildings.

The proposed amendment would expand the definition of a dangerous building to include a structure that does not have a working heating system adequate to the size or needs of the structure. It would also label as dangerous a building that fails to have plumbing properly tied into a sanitary sewer system for adequate drainage.

The law would not give the city the right to enter and inspect a building without the occupant's permission, according to Ferrall. If a city inspector were given permission and saw issues, the city could then follow procedure to designate the facility a dangerous building.

Safety service director Greg Foxhoven said officials believe the time has come to strengthen the law, and the law covers requirements already mandated by the state, including adequate heating and plumbing systems. He hoped to have the legislation put before council members at their next meeting on Monday.

"I've witnessed some of the sewer issues that have taken place," Foxhoven said. "(For) some of these residences, we've had to get the health department and/or child services involved."

Some residences lacking adequate plumbing reportedly did not drain properly, creating "nasty environments" in basements.

When council member Todd Fleagle asked officials to define an "adequate" heating system, Farrell reiterated it needs to be appropriate for the size or needs of the structure.

Renters who had space heaters everywhere would not only see their electricity costs increase because of their landlord's negligence but also would create a possible fire hazard, Foxhoven added.

Several buildings have already been cleaned or demolished using the dangerous building ordinance. In the event of a violation, Foxhoven said property owners are sent a notice describing the violation and given time to fix the issue. Property owners will be sent up to three notices with the third advising they have 30 days to fix the property or the city would raze it. Demolition costs are later assessed to the property owner.

Officials also discussed creating a full-time code-enforcement position, with Foxhoven saying it was time the city became proactive rather than reactive in dealing with code issues.

The St. Marys police chief's administrative assistant Dan Warniment handles code violations, but due to the additional duties of his position, he has been unable to focus on the issues. Foxhoven proposed creating a new position that would handle many of the clerical duties of the police department, allowing Warniment to become a full-time code enforcement officer.

City auditor Douglas Riesen was not present at the meeting Monday, but Foxhoven said the auditor supported creating the additional position.

"I think it'd be great to have a full-time coding officer because I think our community has fallen behind," council member Robin Willoughby said.

Foxhoven said city officials had come to the same conclusion long ago, but funding had been an issue. The city is still operating in the black, despite the coronavirus' economic impact, he continued.

"We just feel like, if we don't get our hands around this code enforcement thing pretty soon, it's going to cost us to catch up," Foxhoven said.

Council members Fleagle and Dan Uhlenhake expressed concern over the potential cost of creating a new position, which Foxhoven acknowledged was a concern. Both new positions would have added duties that would allow Warniment to perform adequately as a code-enforcement official and would allow police officers and the police chief more time on the streets rather than at a desk doing clerical work such as making schedules or handling public records requests, Foxhoven said.

No action was taken on the creation of the new positions during the meeting.