Salem could be searching for a new sanitation hauler

BY BROOKS TAYLOR

Mt. Pleasant News

SALEM ? A new sanitation carrier may be needed in Salem soon.

During Tuesday?s city council meeting, it was learned that Sedore, the current contract holder for sanitation service was under investigation by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the Iowa Attorney General?s office for violations.

This is the second time in the past year, that Sedore?s alleged violations have been brought before the city council.

Lynn Whaley of WEMIGA, a sanitation service in Mt. Pleasant, said he has picked up a couple of SEDORE accounts recently.

?He (Sedore) is operating illegally and it worries me that we will be left high and dry some day,? Councilman Chuck Kramer said.

Whaley said that as of June, Sedore still was not compliant. ?They decided to turn it (the case) over to the attorney general?s office because DNR wasn?t making progress.? Whaley also said he would step in and take Salem?s garbage if the community decides to end its relationship with Sedore.

The council wants to check with the city attorney on whether the contract with Sedore has an escape clause.

Salem resident Chris Feehan told the council she would like to expand her greenhouse business and asked the council whether it was possible to have a commercial business in a residential district.

?We would like to be allowed a business in our house,? Feehan told the council. ?We are trying to buy our neighbor?s property, but I don?t want to put all this money into the property and then run into trouble because it is not zoned correctly. If we bought the property, we would put another trailer out of town which I think would be a good improvement.?

Feehan was told she had to talk to planning and zoning about a zoning change. She said she had and was referred to the council. Feehan said she wasn?t necessarily seeking a zoning change, adding that a variance to allow a commercial business would suffice.

?We can give you a variance to allow a business to operate in a residential area,? Councilwoman Mary Hoyer related.

?If we can?t put a building there, we probably won?t buy it (the property),? Feehan said. ?It is junk property the way it is now.?

The council said it would check with the city attorney but urged Feehan to purchase the property, stating it had no opposition to giving her a variance.

?I think the rest of the council has no problems with it (variance),? Kramer commented. ?It (the property) is only $15,000. You can earn that in a week.?

Dillon Haynes, who appeared before the council a year ago concerning a nuisance violation, visited with the council again on the same problem. Haynes said that the nuisance in question is related to a hobby so it does not constitute a nuisance.

Hoyer begged to differ with Haynes, saying she talked to a state official and was told there is no exemption in any part of the state code regarding hobbies being exempt from a nuisance violation.

?Last year I was here in July and you said my nuisance was cleared up,? Haynes said. ?Now my family is being harassed from this situation?.I have spent over $80,000 on those cars.?

?The ordinance is very clear,? Hoyer contended. ?It is also clear by the photos that an ordinance exists. You are going to have to consult with your attorney. You have to have a garage, which is totally enclosed and has doors that open. In August 2015, we passed an ordinance which redefined the nuisance ordinance.?

Mayor Dan Patterson said Salem will be spending just over $38,000 with L.L. Pelling on street repair this year. He said that some repair on Liberty Street was cut from the list to make the cost manageable.

In other agenda items, the council:

? Heard a report from Hoyer on progress regarding other nuisances. Hoyer said she is talking to property owners who have the nuisances.

? Learned that the city purchased a new maintenance truck for $20,500.

? Passed a resolution for the annual city street financial report.

Council members meet again in regular session Tuesday, Oct. 4, at 5:30 p.m. in the Community Building.