City will not pursue cleanup lien at 413 Garland Street, city attorney says

The City of Conway will not pursue a cleanup lien for the property at 413 Garland Street, the city attorney told the City Council on March 11, 2025.

Council members had asked for an update after the item was discussed at a prior meeting. The city attorney said the matter was removed from the agenda after code enforcement decided not to seek a cleanup lien; he described seeking a lien as optional under applicable procedures and said staff sometimes decide not to pursue a lien for reasons including proportionality and the way a lien would be measured against the property.

The council did not take formal action on the property at the March 11 meeting. The city attorney said the code enforcement department made the decision, and suggested the council direct specific questions to the director of code enforcement. A council member raised concerns that code enforcement had earlier told the property owner that the condition was acceptable and said, in that member’s view, the city should adhere to that prior finding.

The council did not adopt new enforcement action nor instruct staff to reinstate a lien request during the meeting. The transcript shows the council discussed the decision and the discretionary nature of cleanup liens, but no motion to change that departmental decision was introduced or voted on.

The item was listed for follow-up in oral discussion but with no formal direction recorded to reopen the lien request. Council members referenced local staff and the director of code enforcement as the appropriate contacts for further details.

Upcoming steps or additional staff reporting were not specified on the record; the council did not set a follow-up date in the transcript.