Resident urges county action on alleged long-running hoarding and camper occupancy; county staff, sheriff and state’s attorney outline next steps

John Barley Jr. asked the Board of Commissioners to address two neighboring properties in Rapid Valley he said have long-standing problems: one with items and storage piled in the front yard and one with a skirted camper he says has been occupied for about 18 months.

Duane Allen, the county’s ordinance/code-enforcement officer, said he has visited the properties repeatedly and left notices; he described limits to enforcement when occupants do not answer doors and when material is behind privacy fencing. “I do get a lot of the… people are living in a camper. I do get a lot of the — the slides are out — you can travel around the county and see a hundred of those,” Allen said, noting that his authority is constrained by budgets and statute.

Megan Kruger of the state’s attorney’s office reviewed legal pathways. She said the county’s ordinance allows three general routes: informal resolution, abatement (with a civil lien assessment) and criminal prosecution. Abatement can proceed when notice requirements are met; however, abatement costs can be substantial and historically have been thousands of dollars. “Typically we give that notice and we do that on properties that have smaller costs for cleanup because of some of that cost limitation that we have,” Kruger said. She said prosecutions require a formal investigation and evidence suitable for criminal court.

Allen said the county’s most recent abatement bid for a similar cleanup was in the $25,000–$30,000 range; he said the county’s abatement budget is small (about $4,000) and he personally has authority to approve abatements up to $1,000. That gap helps explain why some long-running properties remain unresolved; county staff suggested using internal crews (for example, highway department equipment) as an alternative to contracted abatement where feasible.

Commissioners directed staff to take concrete steps: coordinate with the sheriff’s office for a documented knock-and-talk and investigator follow-up on the camper occupancy report, reissue formal notices on visible nuisance conditions, and refer the property that appears immediately hazardous or clearly public in nature to the state’s attorney’s office for legal review of abatement or prosecution options. Kruger and staff said they would begin the process and evaluate whether abatement, lien assessment or prosecution is appropriate.

Why it matters: The complainant said the conditions reduce neighbors’ quality of life and could depress nearby property values. County staff noted that enforcement resources, statutory limits, and abatement costs complicate quick remedies; commissioners asked staff to pursue available legal avenues and return with options.

What’s next: Staff will coordinate a sheriff’s-office inspection and reissue formal notices, consult with the state’s attorney on abatement steps, and report back; the county may use internal crews to reduce contractor expense if the legal route allows it.