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Lamont City Council adopts stricter nuisance-abatement penalties after residents cite repeated calls
Summary
The Lamont City Council unanimously adopted Ordinance No. 109 on April 12, 2023, increasing fines for repeat nuisance violations and authorizing city-initiated abatement with billed cleanup costs after neighbors presented repeated call logs and staff described ongoing enforcement efforts.
The Lamont City Council unanimously adopted Ordinance No. 109 on April 12, 2023, increasing fines for nuisance-abatement violations and authorizing the city to abate repeat problems and charge cleanup labor. The vote followed reports from the county sheriff and the city compliance officer about repeated calls to specific properties.
Mayor Mary Ann Dozark called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. and the council approved the consent agenda before taking up department reports and ordinance business. Deputy Blake Gallery of the Buchanan County Sheriff’s Department said the office logged more than 40 hours of service in March, responding to incidents that included a juvenile car-theft matter, a reported suicidal person, property-retrieval calls and a driving complaint. He urged residents to contact law enforcement when they observe unlawful activity.
Compliance Officer Jeremiah Owens told the council he has begun inspecting properties for junk and junk vehicles and has posted letters to owners to bring properties into compliance. Neighbors concerned about conditions at 870 and 910 East Street presented the council with sheriff’s logs and aerial photos showing repeated calls to those addresses. Owens and Deputy Gallery said many of the calls do not meet the threshold for a disorderly-house ordinance but that the city will consider its nuisance-abatement code when responding and pursuing enforcement.
After discussion, the council approved the third reading of Ordinance No. 109 and then moved to adopt it. The ordinance amends nuisance-abatement Chapter 50.05 to add graduated penalties: a first offense (after a 21-day grace period) carries a $200 fine; a second or repeat offense (after an additional seven-day grace period) carries a $250 fine; and a third and subsequent offense carries a $300 fine and authorizes the City of Lamont to take legal action to abate the property and charge $100 per hour, per worker for cleanup and rectification. The motion to adopt recorded ayes from Lamphier, Behrens, Lincoln, Slack and Devlin.
The ordinance gives the city an explicit path to perform abatement work and recover labor costs when property owners fail to comply after notices. Councilmembers discussed enforcement in the context of limitations under the disorderly-house standard and emphasized follow-up by compliance staff and law enforcement.
Votes at a glance: the council approved the consent agenda (mover: Slack; second: Lamphier; all ayes); approved INRCOG CDBG housing-rehab invoices for $332.92 (mover: Devlin; second: Lincoln; all ayes); approved the third reading and adopted Ordinance No. 109 (mover: Devlin; second: Slack; ayes: Lamphier, Behrens, Lincoln, Slack, Devlin); voted not to participate in the MR WMA funding investment at this time (mover: Slack; second: Lamphier; all ayes); and adjourned at 8:28 p.m. (mover: Devlin; second: Lamphier; all ayes).
The meeting record does not specify an effective date for Ordinance No. 109 or further procedural steps; the clerk’s minutes record adoption and the meeting adjourned at 8:28 p.m.
