Washington Evening Journal
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Washington, IA 52353
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Fairfield council hears complaint about mowing charge
Andy Hallman
Mar. 30, 2022 11:47 am
FAIRFIELD — A Fairfield resident is not happy about the city mowing his yard last year and charging him what he believed was an exorbitant amount.
Fairfield resident Gary Boucherle appeared before the Fairfield City Council Monday night to discuss his objection to a “nuisance abatement” taken against his properties at 1106 and 1200 E. Burlington Ave., south of Chautauqua Park on the east edge of Fairfield.
Boucherle said that in the spring of 2021, he received a letter from the city notifying him of the need to mow the grass at his property at 1106 E. Burlington Ave. Boucherle said he contacted code enforcement officer Scott Vaughan, who he knew from playing softball with, and explained that the reason he couldn’t mow was that his brush mower developed a manufacturer’s defect causing it to “ghost drive,” meaning to go by itself.
Boucherle said that, rather than take the risk, he decided to wait until new parts arrived. He told Vaughan he expected to rebuild the mower in the next couple of days.
Boucherle said that Vaughan told him not to worry about it because the weather had been so wet that nobody had a chance to mow anyway.
The next day, Boucherle was surprised to find that the city had mowed his properties at 1106 and 1200 E. Burlington, even though he hadn’t even received a letter about 1200, just 1106.
Boucherle said he was shocked that he was charged $155 to mow 1106 E. Burlington since he can mow that lawn in 30-45 minutes with a push mower. He received a separate bill for $235 for 1200 E. Burlington, a property he mows in less than an hour with a brush mower.
Boucherle wrote in a letter to the council, “I find it unconscionable that we would be charged for 5 hours total — 3 hours for 1200 East Burlington and 2 hours for 1106 East Burlington — when I can do the entire two properties in under 1 hour, 15 minutes. The claim that it took two people 5 hours time to tractor mow these two properties is highway robbery. The claim that the grass was too high and therefore took this amount of time to mow is also untrue. If anything, the grass was still too wet.”
Boucherle wrote that this was the first time anything like this had happened to him in 35 years of owning the property. He requested the council remove all charges.
Council member Katy Anderson motioned to settle the matter by reducing the bill by half, to $195. The vote was 6-1 in favor, with council member Doug Flournoy casting the only no vote.
Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com