By Staff
BACK YARD – Neighbors say they have seen opossums crawling into holes in the roof at 3513 32nd Street in Meridian. Photo by Carisa McCain/The Meridian Star
By Fredie Carmichael / staff writer
Oct. 11, 2002
Mary Perry, president of the Meridian City Council, says dealing with unclean property seems to be a constant struggle.
One of the biggest problems, she said, is that people don't know the procedure they have to follow to have derelict properties cleaned up.
City Council Clerk Pam McInnis said 108 unclean property cases were resolved last year. The list has swelled to 117 complaints this year.
If residents feel the city should intervene and clean a piece of property inside the city limits, McInnis said, they should call the inspection division of the Community Development Department.
The rest of the procedure goes like this:
1) City inspectors inspect the property to determine if there is a health hazard, and if the property needs to be cleaned;
2) Inspectors determine who owns the property, and send a certified letter stating that the owners have 10 days to clean it up;
3) After 10 days, inspectors go back and inspect the property again. If it's not clean, they send the owners another certified letter giving them 10 more days;
4) Once those 10 days are up, the matter is put on the Meridian City Council's regular meeting agenda. The council schedules a public hearing;
5) The council's clerk sends a certified letter to the property owners informing them that, if city workers do the job, they will have to reimburse the city and may be subject to a $250 fine; and
6) The property is placed on a clean-up list. Properties on the list are cleaned in the order they appear.
For more information, call the inspection division at 485-1900.