City Council decides to step up code enforcement

Date:

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.

WANT TO SEE MORE?

More article below - Read with a mailed subscription or full on-line subscription!

Your financial support of this locally-owned, locally-run newspaper and its advertisers ensures we can continue bringing you great content. Thank you for your support!

MAIL SUBSCRIBERS: Register to receive full access to archives, past issues, extra photos, and more. (Allow up to 3 business days for full activation.) On a recurring subscription? You likely already have an account!

Already have an account? Log In:

Share post:

spot_img

Related articles

Future planning & emergency services top city agenda

by Carrie Moritz, Gazette At Monday's city council meeting, the Garretson City Council heard a specific run-down from the...

Election planned this April

An election will be held on April 8 for both school board and city council, and the city...

City to move ahead with annexation study, selects DGR as city engineer

Carrie Moritz, Gazette In a quick and mostly straightforward meeting on Monday, the Garretson City Council voted to move...

Natural Gas prices remain high, new speed limits

By Carrie Moritz,  Garretson Gazette A new business will be built in the industrial development, speed limits on Dows Street...

Log In

Latest articles

Three will compete for two seats on the Garretson School Board

With a joint city of Garretson and Garretson School Board election coming up on Tuesday, April 8th, 2025...

Open fire burn ban now in effect for rural Minnehaha County

By Dave Baumeister County Correspondent SIOUX FALLS – Due to severe dry conditions, Minnehaha County Commissioners voted unanimously to immediately...

Oh, what a Birthday Weekend!

submitted by Sam Williamson On March 18, Joan Engebretson celebrated her 93rd birthday. The weekend before, friends and family...

FFA qualifies 27 for State CDEs

by Brielle Weir, GHS Blue Ink FFA career development event (CDE) contests just began at the beginning of the...

Burn Ban in effect, dry conditions continue

Ban prompted by several area fires, including Garretson On Tuesday, Minnehaha County Emergency Management placed a burn ban county-wide...

From the Desk of the Mayor 

I wanted to get this out before April so that I could cover a number of things happening...
s2Member®