Falmouth City Council addressed code enforcement complications during its February 2, 2021, caucus. While Police Chief Shannon Clem confirmed that most who violate the city ordinances comply after a warning or a city citation, others do not. Those who are taken to court may or may not suffer consequences, according to Clem. The council discussed how to strengthen their ordinances so that an attempt at compliance is not enough to take violators back to the first step—a warning. Councilpersons Luke Price and Joyce Carson stated that the ordinance should have a definite end date for compliance with no restart on the citation penalties.
Councilperson Sebastian Ernst took the proposal a step farther. “I think we should write it as if they are cited and they comply, the citation goes away. If they do not, the city will clean it up, and the bill will be added to the tax bill.”
Carson and Ernst also suggested that the city set aside money to purchase blighted properties. Ernst made the point that blighted properties devalue adjacent properties around the city. Price agreed that the council should consider budgeting to foreclose on blighted properties around the city.
Price also mentioned that cars are parking along streets that are too narrow to have on-street parking on both sides. Voelker read the KRS statute regarding that concern, and Price asked that “no parking” signs be erected on one side of each street that has this problem so that citations can be issued without concerns from the police department. The fact that buses and emergency vehicles cannot get through some streets due to the on-street parking raised the concern.
Fire Chief Dave Klaber gave a detailed report of his first month as chief regarding different layouts of how the fire house is being used and other aspects of the job he has changed as chief. Klaber also told Mayor Ron Stinson that the contract with the county regarding the reimbursement of landing zones and lift assists has caused some confusion regarding when the county should pay, before or during the $80,000 contract. Stinson agreed to speak with Judge Executive David Fields to clarify the understanding of the contract.
Stinson reported that his meeting with Wayne Lonaker and Joby Brewer regarding tapping the subdivision into Hammer’s sewer line revealed that they just wanted a price for 54 houses for 5,000 gallons a day. He also reported that money is coming from the state once again to help those whose utilities are in danger of being cut off due to the direct effects of COVID. That money will be made available after February 21.
Bill Mitchell, Director of Economic Development, updated council on the sewer project. He also stated he would soon be working with his successor to help with the transition as he is retiring. Dawn Hughes, Safety Director and Administrative Assistant in the Water and Wastewater Department, said that the city needed to ask permission to get access to the water tower south of town in order to have it painted, which is part of the project. Stinson agreed to ask permission of the landowners who would be affected.
The next regular meeting of Falmouth City Council will be Tuesday, February 16, 2021, at 7:00 p.m. The public is invited to attend.
