by Carrie Moritz, Gazette

            Last Monday, June 12, the Garretson City Council heard concerns from the new code enforcement officer on whether he was being too strict, or not strict enough.

            Doug Winstead took on the mantle of Code Enforcement Officer earlier in the year, and questioned the council on how much he should be pursuing violations.

            "I wasn't sure about how detailed I should be, whether I should report every stray cat to you," he said in opening. "Things got busy in April, May... the ratio has been about 50-50 on call-ins versus surveillance."

            Then, he asked the council, "How aggressive do you want me to be as far as looking for violations?"

            He pointed out the largest violations he had seen so far this summer were stray and loose animals and a tendency by some to ignore the length of their grass.

            Councilor Bill Hoskins said he'd prefer to start with a public service announcement in the areas the city can promote such things, such as Facebook, utility bills, and the newspaper. Councilor Bruce Brown concurred, stating that combining the three would likely be the most effective.

            "We could remind the citizens that grass is supposed to be 8 inches or less in height, not waist high," Hoskins said. He then suggested enforcement could be stronger after the PSA's went out.

            Dreckman said that posting common ordinances on the City of Garretson Facebook Page was something she was hoping to do, but hadn't gotten around to it yet.

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