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Residents press Owosso council on code enforcement, abandoned property and potholes; public works outlines interim patching plan
Summary
Residents raised multiple concerns — alleged code violations at a council member's property, political signs in rights-of-way, abandoned furniture on city-owned land, building window damage, and severely deteriorated roads. Director Ryan Suhaneck described a mid-range plan using hot-mix asphalt (HMA) shoulder repairs and targeted contractor work to stretch the budget.
Owosso — Several residents used the citizen-comment periods to press the council on local code enforcement, property maintenance and street conditions.
Resident Dana Vargas said he was arrested and jailed for roughly two weeks over alleged junk in a rental property’s backyard, paid $375 to be released and returned to find his belongings damaged or missing. “I had to pay $375 to get out of jail … I don't understand that,” he said, asking the council to look into how enforcement was applied in his case.
Longtime resident Mike Klein listed a string of neighborhood concerns: apparent code violations at a Mason Street residence (two motorcycles and what he described as an unregistered vehicle), political millage signs placed between curb and sidewalk, abandoned indoor furniture on a city-owned parcel on Bradley Street and two broken windows on an adjacent building after a demolition. “Our roads are the worst I have ever seen in 63 years,” Klein said, urging concrete plans to fix potholes and said cold patching was insufficient.
Mayor Taish and staff pledged follow-up: the mayor asked the police chief to meet with complainants after the meeting and the city manager said staff would check property ownership and follow up if the city owns the Bradley Street lot. A council member reminded residents that signs taken by code enforcement during elections are usually retrievable at the DPW building for about a week.
Ryan Suhaneck, director of public services and utilities, described a short-term strategy to address potholes using hot-mix asphalt (HMA) on targeted roadway shoulders rather than full-depth reconstruction. “So it's not a permanent solution, but it's a mid-range solution to buy us time,” Suhaneck said, adding the city will mark current known locations and use resident complaints to prioritize work. He said the approach stretches limited funds and is intended to buy time until permanent reconstruction can be scheduled.
The council did not take formal action on individual enforcement items during the meeting; staff commitments were limited to follow-up investigations, property-owner contact where appropriate and the described interim pothole repairs.
