Council of Governments helps communities with nuisance enforcement

MARENGO — One of the services offered by the East Central Iowa Council of Governments, an intergovernmental council established in 1973 to help build communities, is help with abating nuisances.

Mark Culver, housing inspector with ECICOG, described the service during an ECICOG Turbo Talk Dec. 16.

Turbo Talks are 30-minute virtual seminars presented by ECICOG to disseminate information to government leaders who have limited time.

ECICOG started the nuisance program seven or eight years ago, said Culver during his presentation. It currently provides the service to six or seven communities in its region which covers Benton, Iowa, Johnson, Jones, Linn and Washington Counties.

For about $5,400 a year, ECICOG will inspect properties, take photos of nuisance areas and send letters to homeowners and renters, said Culver.

Before agreeing to a contract with a city, ECICOG makes sure the city council is prepared to enforce the nuisance letters, said Culver. If a homeowner refuses to abate the nuisance and the city doesn’t enforce the ordinance, the service isn’t useful, he said.

The first thing ECICOG discusses with a city is what specific problems the city has — junk cars, overgrown weeds and trees or general trash, said Culver.

ECICOG will look through the nuisance chapters of a city’s code so it understands what the city considers a nuisance, what exceptions exist and what time limit is set for cleaning up the nuisance.

ECICOG will look at properties identified by the city first and then divide the city into quadrants. “We’ll inspect homes for nuisances,” said Culver.

“We just drive the streets looking for nuisance violations,” Culver said, starting with main streets and ending with the alleys.

“We don’t step on the property,” said Culver and will take photos only from street, city sidewalks or alleys.

“We would then prepare the nuisance letters,” said Culver. They’ll be sent with the city’s letterhead but with contact information for ECICOG.

Letters will be sent to the city for approval before they are mailed. Some people may be working with the city already, said Culver, and ECICOG doesn’t want to step on anyone’s toes.

ECICOG will send a courtesy letter by regular mail first, letting the resident know a condition exists and is considered a nuisance.

When ECICOG makes its next nuisance visit, it will inspect those homes first. If they haven’t complied, ECICOG will send a second letter by certified mail.

ECICOG will inspect homes again after homeowners have had sufficient time to remove the nuisance, said Culver. For junk vehicles that’s about 30 days, and for dangerous buildings about 90 days.

Letters are sent to both renter and landlord in rental situations, said Culver. Photos are included, and nuisances are circled.

ECICOG and staff review existing codes and help cities develop enforcement plans based on city priorities and allotted hours. ECICOG will typically spend six hours a month working for a city — three hours on-site and three hours off-site. But that can be adjusted based on need, Culver said.

ECICOG writes follow-up reports, issues citations and conducts follow-up inspections when needed.

City staff and attorneys are responsible for court action if it’s required.

“We’re kind of making a slam dunk case for the city attorney,” said Culver. ECICOG provides all the evidence — letters, photos.

Everything is documented, Culver said. The cities simply have to file everything with the courts. They don’t even have to visit the properties, said Culver.

If additional photos are needed before the court date, ECICOG will do that too.

In some cases ECICOG can’t get through the entire community each month, but the agency wanted to provide a service that is affordable to communities.

“The more communities that sign up make it easier for us,” said Culver ECICOG can organize travel to maximize its time.

There is no limit to number of communities that can use the service, Culver said.