Staff writer
At last week’s Marion City Council meeting, the council approved a modification to the current nuisance ordinance.
The ordinance says that once a complaint is raised, a certified letter will be sent to the homeowner by the city.
The modification says that instead of notifying the homeowner by certified letter, a door hanger notification would be hung at the residence. After receiving the notification, the homeowner would have 10 days to correct the problem. If no action is taken by the homeowner, then the city will send out a certified letter. If no action is still taken by the homeowner then, city crews will correct the problem at the owner’s expense.
“Other communities are seeing many issues resolved using the door hanger method,” city administrator Roger Holter said.
Fire and police chiefs, streets superintendent Marty Frederickson, and electrical superintendent Christian Pedersen can distribute the door hangers.
“We believe it will speed up response rates for grievances about properties not giving our desired image of our city and do it in a non-threatening way,” Holter said.
The council was also updated on the future street project. While no start date has been set, EBH Engineering has developed a timeline for the work to be completed.
Crews will start at the intersection of Denver and Roosevelt Sts., then move on to Freeborn St. and Lincoln St. These three areas are the only areas to be completed during the winter months. The rest of the streets to be worked on will be completed come spring.
There was also an update on the Jex Addition sewer project. The project is back on track after the lift station passed testing Nov. 22. The project was stalled momentarily Monday after rupturing a supply line early in the day.
“They are now back on track,” Holter said. “The ruptured supply line was fixed, but residents were without water for about 2½ hours Monday morning.”
In other business:
- The council approved an ordinance increasing the licensing term for construction contractors from one to two years.
- The council approved a payment to Kansas Department of Health and Environment for $104,677. The amount includes a first payment to Middle Creek Corporation for its work on the Jex Addition sewer project.
- The council approved a Community Development Block Grant payment for $38,485 for the Jex Addition project.
- Mayor Mary Olson proclaimed Nov. 24 through 30 to be National Family Week in Marion.
- The council took no action on the residential Christmas light credit program, discontinuing the credit residents would get on utility bills for having Christmas lights.