Council cracking down on ordinances
Residents of Moulton may soon see some additional code enforcement actions to try and beautify Moulton.
A word to the wise: Those with junked vehicles in their yards, as well as those with tall grass may want to start cleaning up now. Otherwise, don’t be surprised if you should get visit from the local Police Chief Danial Beyer
“Ordinance enforcement isn’t what I want to do or like to do, but I agree that something needs to be done,” Chief Beyer said. “I don’t want to live in a trashy community unfortunately. It’s the city’s responsibility to enforce ordinances to keep the community from being trashy. I personally have taken on responsibility of ordinance enforcement and everyone with the city must be on board with the process.”
Reports to the city at the May 16 City Council meeting show that there were 15 junk vehicle citations and 48 tall grass violations since December. That number could climb much higher. Council memb
Council members went over what constitutes a “junked vehicle” violation.
“There’s three things that make the definition of a junked vehicle by our ordinance,” Beyer said. “One is if there’s an expired registration, that makes it a junked vehicle. No. 2 is that if parts of a vehicle are wrecked or dismantled, and No. 3 is if it has sat for 30 days in one spot and is inoperable.
So long as there are current registrations on vehicles, no matter how long they’ve sat, then they are considered not junked vehicles. Tall grass or weeds in the yard are also cause for concern.
“We have to make sure we have all the wording correct because I haven’t enforced a weed ordinance yet,” Beyer said. “I’ve been given time frames, most of these people who are on the list (of violations) have simply not mowed and, of course, we have to be understanding about the rain out there, so we are trying to work with people on that.”
Junked vehicles and tall grass are a safety concern, according to council policy. Council brought up the notion of possibly having pickup days for trash and clean up days for junked vehicles and old tires.Junked vehicles and tall grass are a safety concern, according to council policy. Council brought up the notion of possibly having pickup days for trash and clean up days for junked vehicles and old tires.
“We need to be proactive and help those and offer more services,” Place 4 Councilwoman Nina Blaschke said.
A 2019 survey showed that most people believe the Moulton Police Department and the City of Moulton should enact ordinances for junked vehicles, general rubbish, and tall grass and weeds.
The City of Moulton also canvassed the election and council members Adam Nieto, Roberta Mejias, and Kelley Moeller were administered their new oaths of office for Place 1, 3 and 4, respectively. A total of 140 votes were counted, with 85 early votes, 42 votes on election day, and 13 mail-in ballots
Council also approved a Community Development Block Grant for wastewater contracts in the amount of $290,000.
