by James Jordan, Sumner Newscow — Wellington City Council members talked about an animal shelter, and code compliance during a work session meeting Monday night at the Wellington Council Chambers. The monthly Town Hall meeting is set for tonight at 7 p.m.

Animal shelter —

An animal shelter may soon take a step closer to becoming a reality, but it is still a ways off.  Linda Stewart,  head of the local humane society group, asked the city council for a piece of land during a work session meeting Monday night.

She also asked the city to help pay for a director, and she will be asking the county for the same thing soon.

Council members seemed agreeable to giving the group a vacant lot at the Industrial Park. It is an odd shaped lot that probably doesn’t have room for an industry of any size. The lot is listed at $27,000 on the tax rolls but City Manager Roy Eckert said he doubted it could be sold for that. Currently, the city is maintaining the lot and is getting no tax revenue.

Utilities also go by the lot so that was another plus. Stewart said they have a piece of land, but utilities are not yet available, so they looked for a new location and they feel this will be a good one.

Assuming the city approves giving her the lot at the next regular meeting Stewart said she is ready to move on with trying to get a facility built in Wellington.

The shelter would be for the whole county, assuming the county wants to get involved.

She said there is a great need for a shelter and currently her group helps find homes for many dogs in the area.

She did not know what the total cost would be, but they have some money, and could probably pay for the rest with donations.

Stewart believes they need a full time professional director, and wants the city and county to help pay for that person.

She said actually building the facility might still be a few years away, and said she does not know when it will get built. So even if the city agreed to help pay for a director, it would be a couple of years before they would actually spend the money.

Stewart is asking the city and county for $25,000 each to help pay for a director.

She is also hoping for the backing of the county and city as she tries to get grants for additional funding.

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Code Compliance

Council member Kelly Green wanted to talk about code compliance and brought a few people to the meeting to help discuss the issue. She said she has seen properties complained about five years ago, and little has changed. She wanted to know why lots are not being cleaned up even when efforts are being made to do so.

Kerwin Spencer spoke at the meeting as the attorney who prosecutes cases the city might bring against people.

Green also met with the same people several months ago and she said they had a good discussion. Many people complain about there being a lot of junky yards and properties, and she wants to find out how to get them cleaned up.

Spencer said a part of the problem is that the city adopted a uniform code that has been accepted nationally. This code makes not complying with a clean up order illegal, but does not address specific things such as a car without a tag or a refrigerator left in a yard.

He said there is a problem in that what some people think is rubbish others think of as something valuable, or at least worth hanging on to.

He said code compliance officers go investigate when a complaint is issued. If they determine there is a problem, they are given 10 days to fix the problem. Spencer then sends them another letter and tells them they have 10 days to fix the problem or face a fine.

He said about half of the people he sends letters to clean up their property.

One problem is that it gets filled with junk or rubbish again soon, so the root problem is not being fixed.

They have the option of appealing to the city council if they do not think there is a problem.

Green said no such case has ever come before the council, so she wondered why there are still so many bad properties around town.

Spencer liked the old ordinances that spelled out specifics as far as what is not acceptable as opposed to having a uniform code that makes things less clear.

City code officers said they do like the code and think it is worthwhile.

Council members agreed there is a breakdown somewhere in the system, and they are not sure where it is. The city still has a lot of bad looking properties, but very few are actually getting prosecuted.

Green wants to streamline the process and some wanted to make the penalties greater.

City Attorney Mike Brown said they could raise the current $100 fine to $500, with the stipulation that it will be reduced if the problem is taken care of in the allowed time.

Mayor Shelley Hansel wondered about allowing code enforcement officers to write tickets or citations.

They agreed there needs to be a more streamlined process and better communication. They may also address the code. They agreed to take another look at the old ordinances that the code replaced several years ago.

There was no consensus on what to do but they did agree that something needs to be done to clean up the city.

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