Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Code Enforcement topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Resident says city and police unfairly targeted step van; requests meeting with mayor and council
Summary
A written statement from Tina Lores was read at the Mentor-on-the-Lake council meeting alleging inconsistent enforcement and harassment by city staff and police over a step van she uses as a sleeping space; she requested a meeting with the mayor and council for clarification.
A written statement from resident Tina Lores, who lives at 6074 Cedarwood, alleging selective enforcement of city vehicle rules was read to the Mentor-on-the-Lake City Council during the public-correspondence portion of the meeting.
Lores said city staff and a police officer initially told her the step van was not violating city law, then later told her it had to be moved. According to the statement read aloud to the council, she was told a $150-per-day fine would be assessed if the vehicle remained after a deadline. The statement also says an officer returned early the next morning, "flashing lights into the window and yelling," and that the officer insisted the van was a commercial vehicle that could not be parked in the city.
Lores wrote that she offered to show the vehicle title to prove its size but that the officer declined and returned the following day to threaten enforcement. She said at least one neighbor did not complain and that other nearby vehicles she believes meet the same enforcement threshold were not cited. "She is requesting a meeting with the mayor and her council representatives to discuss this matter and seek clarification on what happened," the statement concluded.
Mayor Eva and council members did not take immediate action in response to the statement during the meeting; council members acknowledged the complaint and heard the read correspondence. The statement asked the council to ensure "no other residents are subjected to this kind of treatment in the future."
The record included procedural details from the statement: a city official named Chuck initially told Lores on Sept. 18 that no law was being violated and that the neighbor who complained was Terry Strong; on Nov. 7 Chuck told Lores the van "needs to be moved today;" when she requested extra time she was later told a $150-per-day fine would apply.
The council did not schedule a follow-up at the meeting. Mayor Eva and staff can be contacted through city hall for comment or to arrange the meeting Lores requested.
