Machesney Park OKs new junk car law

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Vehicles that are not street legal or are broken down must be kept in garages.

By Kevin Haas
RRSTAR.COM

MACHESNEY PARK — If your car doesn’t belong on the street, then it can’t stay in your driveway either.

The Machesney Park Village Board voted unanimously Monday in favor of a new law that requires broken-down vehicles or ones that aren’t street legal to be stored inside a garage. Violators face fines.

The goal for village officials is to improve the look of neighborhoods and increase property values by keeping potentially unsightly vehicles out of sight.

Some residents approve
Residents Karen and Don Schmoll said they were pleased to see the law pass because inoperable cars can be a neighborhood eyesore.

“I didn’t build a $160,000 home and move into a decent neighborhood so that I can have junk parked next door to me in the driveway,” Don Schmoll said.

They said broken down vehicles that are allowed to be kept outside of a garage can also lower property values.

Others have complained the law is burdensome for those who can’t afford to make repairs immediately.

“We live in a developing subdivision that’s still not filled in,” Don Schmoll said. “It should affect the people that are out there looking to buy a new home, too, because they don’t want to see that either.”

It’s a tougher version of the village’s previous law, which allowed inoperable vehicles to be stored within an enclosure.

Tougher law helps police
The previous law allowed broken down cars, stock cars and all-terrain vehicles to sit in driveways, so long as they were surrounded by a fence or covered with a tarp. Those vehicles must all be stored within a garage now.

The new law helps sheriff’s police and the village enforce complaints from residents, said Deputy Chief Rocco Wagner, who leads the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Department’s Machesney Division.

Staff writer Kevin Haas can be reached at khaas@rrstar.com or 815-987-1354.

What you need to know
The new law: All inoperable motor vehicles, whether on public or private property, must be stored in a garage. Any not stored in a garage will be declared a public nuisance.

What it applies to: Vehicles that are unable to move under their own power for at least 10 days. It also applies to vehicles that are not “street operable,” which means they lack necessary equipment to operate legally on public roads. That includes stock cars and all-terrain vehicles.

Penalties: The village may tow the vehicle after 10 days’ notice. The owner will be charged a $200 administrative fee and additional fees to cover towing and storage costs.

The village also could issue a $100 fine for a first offense. A second offense could result in a $200 fine, with a third offense costing $500. Each day the vehicle is not moved can be considered a separate offense.

NEWS SOURCE

Washoe County proceeds with junk car ordinance

RENO, Nev. Nev.—Washoe County officials are working out the details of a new ordinance they say will help control suburban blight by requiring junk vehicles be hidden from view.

Once in place, officials said the county will be in a stronger position to rid blight from the unincorporated communities surrounding Reno and Sparks.

After a last-minute rally by Hot August Nights car buffs in late October, the county commission backed down on an ordinance change proposed by its planning staff that had set a limit of no more than two junk cars per lot.

The commission agreed it would set no limit on vehicles as long as they can't be seen by the public.

With such a significant change, the draft ordinance had to be rewritten. It will be introduced Dec. 8 and a final vote is scheduled for Jan. 12.

A companion ordinance approved in September will allow the county to hire administrative hearing officers to hear these nuisance cases, uphold fines and eventually order abatement of a property and put on a lien to recover the cost when the land is sold.

Currently, the county puts no limit on the number of junk cars you can have, as long as they are screened from view from the front of the property or a nearby street.

But some critics like Susan Severt question how the new ordinance and added restrictions will help.

She points to property at the north end of Sun Valley Boulevard with backyard full of junk trailers, cars and trucks and more trailers lined up in a gully.

"This has been here for years and years," Severt, who has led a fight against blight in Sun Valley for a decade, told the Reno Gazette-Journal. "This is probably one of our biggest offenders. But he can have as many as he wants as long as you can't see them."

In defining nuisances, a citizens committee including Severt worked 22 months on a draft ordinance that set an upper limit of one junk car per acre for a maximum of 50 vehicles.

"There should be a quantifiable measure," she said.

Severt said she's not offended by someone hauling in a car to take off parts to fix a vehicle or having several piles of construction materials while renovating their home.

But when the junk takes over, it encourages others to pile up their yards with clutter.

"You know it, when you see it," she said of a property that has become a junkyard. "It's not the norm."

NEWS SOURCE

Trustees race muddled with junk car spat

SANDUSKY TOWNSHIP -- Sandusky Township trustees question the ethics of two men running for trustee on the November ballot.

Mike Gabler, 920 S. Horning Road, and Roy Campo, 209 S. Horning Road, attended a meeting last September passing out information regarding junk cars. Campo, with the support of Gabler, claimed the information came from the Ohio Revised Code. The pair is running against incumbent trustees Dan Gorbett and Phil Jackson.

Campo's information, which cited an ordinance on junk vehicle abatement, claimed he was entitled to four vehicles on private property of two acres or greater.

"We'd never heard of this before and so, at the time, we weren't really sure what to say," Jackson said. "We just said we would get back to him on the issue."

After research, Jackson said the ordinances Campo cited were referenced from Clallam County, in the state of Washington.

"It actually was an old (Revised Code of Washington) and doesn't even exist today," Gorbett said.

A letter was mailed out immediately to all citizens who attended the meeting, providing them with the accurate information. Gorbett said the township has had continual problems with junk cars on Campo's property.

Jackson said they've received numerous complaints, including one from Campo's wife.

Trustee Tom Glauer said Campo has not returned to a meeting since.

Neither Gabler nor Campo returned calls from the News Journal.

"Campo and Gabler should know better than to pass off zoning aspects of Washington's state law as an Ohio law to support their claims," Gorbett said. "If they were unaware they were presenting false documentation by using Washington state laws then they may struggle with other aspects of the trustee job."

"This was a feeble attempt to sidestep resident-approved zoning regulations by handing out false information," Jackson said. "We (Sandusky Township) have a lot of car enthusiasts, and unless there is a complaint, we have no issues with it. When there is a complaint however, we look into it, as we were elected to do. Mr. Campo's case was an extreme one and it was moving from a hobby to a junk yard."

jkinton@nncogannett.com 419-521-7220

NEW SOURCE

Jackson court tackles problem properties

"We took him to court, and the judge fined him $50, plus $170 in court costs," said Martin, a code enforcement officer for the city of Jackson.

"The guy was laughing at us when he heard that. It didn't register with him that the charges were per vehicle. When he walked over to the clerk to pay, it was a mind-blowing experience."

The car guy's mind was blown by more than $3,000 in fines assessed in Environmental Court - a specialty tribunal that has been a fixture in Jackson since 1992.

The argument for environmental courts is getting a hearing in other Mississippi cities as well.

Edward Martin remembers the case well: The guy refused to remove 15 or 20 cars parked on his lawn, a violation of a city ordinance.

Advocates say problems such as trashy lawns, tumbledown houses, junk-car yards, unscreened Dumpsters, abandoned buildings, illegal dumps and even dogs on the loose are more likely to be resolved wherever these courts are in session.

That's because violators are more likely to face the threat of fines and, occasionally, jail time for their offenses, supporters say.

Usually, those threats get their attention.

"By the time they get to our court, they usually have multiple offenses," said Jackson Municipal Judge Bob Waller, who has conducted Environmental Court hearings.

"Sometimes their excuses for not taking care of the problem is they didn't have the money or they just didn't want to do it. It's mostly parking cars in
the yard, junk cars in the driveway, cars with flats.

"We do have a lot of abandoned property in Jackson, too. Crackheads use them," Waller said.

In Jackson, Environmental Court fines vary according to a judge's discretion, but a person caught illegally dumping debris, for instance, could be fined up to $1,000 and receive up to six months in jail.

Jackson's court administrator could not provide an estimate for the amount of fines collected monthly.

No one has been fined yet in Gulfport's Environmental Court; it cranked up just last week.

"Until now, our Municipal Court was responsible for abandoned cars, unsafe properties and other quality-of-life issues," said Ryan LaFontaine, city spokesman. The growth of those problems has become more profound, especially since Hurricane Katrina.

NEWS SOURCE

Sioux Falls has harsh penalties for violators

By Emilie Rusch, Journal staff

The state’s largest city also has some of the harshest penalties for residents who refuse to keep their properties up to code.

Whether it is building problems or public nuisances, Code Enforcement has the ability to issue $100 civil citations if no effort to fix the problem occurs within 10 to 14 days, code enforcement officer Brad Hartmann said.

Fines ratchet up to $200 after the second 10 to 14 days of no action and to $300 after the third 10 to 14 days. After that, offenders can be ticketed $300 every day until the property is cleaned up.

“We work with people if they’re willing to work with us,” Hartmann said. “The fines are only automatic if they don’t do anything.”

Hartmann said most code enforcement is complaint-driven, but every spring, the city chooses two neighborhoods for proactive clean-up programs.

Residents in the specific areas can then leave any junk out at the curb — including tires, vehicle parts and appliances — for free pickup by street crews formed from volunteers from various city departments.

Afterwards, code enforcement officers survey the neighborhoods looking for any leftover violations that need to be addressed.

In April, Project Neighborhood Improvement/ Complaint Easement and Project Keep Environmental Enhancement Permanent removed 355 truckloads of rubble, eight loads of tires and eight loads of appliances from two neighborhoods, according to the city’s Web site.

“We can only enforce what city ordinance says,” Hartmann said. “Just because one person doesn’t like the color of the curtains, we can’t change that. But if there’s a complaint about a junk car, or the grass is over eight inches or they’re parking on their lawn — which is illegal in Sioux Falls — we investigate it.”

Bismarck: Clean-Up Week helpsThe North Dakota capital has found luck with a citywide junk collection program similar to that in Sioux Falls every spring and fall.

During Clean-Up Week, all city residents can leave whatever trash and junk they have on the curb for free pickup. The fall clean-up was Sept. 21-26, said Mel Fischer, administrator of the city’s Environmental Health Division. The division is part of the Bismarck

Fire Department.

“I drove by a house this morning and saw two complete PCs with four printers on the boulevard, waiting to be picked up, ready to go,” Fischer said. “There is a great awareness of the program.”

Before the spring clean-up, environmental health officers do an annual “spring survey,” a proactive pass through the city to identify and contact property owners about violations. Year-round, Environmental Health also works closely with the city Public Works Department, which acts as a second set of eyes when out doing normal garbage collection.

In the past four years, Bismarck has gained greater authority to deal with overgrown grass and weeds on residential and commercial properties, Fischer said. Neither can be longer than eight inches.

If property owners do not trim their grass by June 1, July 15 and Sept. 1 — the city’s “cut-by” dates — a city contractor will mow it without notifying residents first. This year, the minimum mowing cost is $74 — $64 per hour plus a $10 administrative fee.

The program, which has been generally well-received in the community, has freed the division’s limited staff to spend more time on other code violations, Fischer said.

“We used to get 1,500 calls a year or more. Then, we’d have to go out and verify the call and get a map ready, give it to a contractor, make sure the contractor cut it. Sometimes, it was four trips out to the parcel,” Fischer said.

“Our goal is just to have it done. If it’s done by someone else, that’s great. We’re not interested in making money in this.”

Saranac Lake plans to auction abandoned vehicles

By CHRIS KNIGHT, Enterprise Senior Staff Writer

SARANAC LAKE - The village is planning to auction 18 cars and trucks, more than a dozen of which were seized by the police department under the village's junk car law.

The date of the auction hasn't been set, but village mechanic Wayne Voudren is working with Blanchard's Auction Service in Potsdam to try and schedule it some- time in early October.

Five of the vehicles were village owned and have been replaced, Voudren said. The remaining 13 were abandoned throughout the village and seized by police.

Voudren said only two of the vehicles are in running condition.

"Most of them are junk," he said. "People just leave garbage in them and, for whatever reason, just walk away."

Saranac Lake Police Chief Bruce Nason said the 13 abandoned cars and trucks had been seized over the past year-and-a-half using the village's junk-car ordinance.

"The majority were done in 2008," he said. "We picked up another three or four in February when we cleaned out the municipal lot off Dorsey Street for snow removal. The others just trickle in."

If police spot a vehicle that has no license plates and isn't registered, an officer will try to make contact with the vehicle's owner or the property owner, Nason said. If that person can't be immediately located, a bright yellow tag is left on the vehicle asking the owner to contact police. If there's still no response, a certified letter is sent to the last known owner of the vehicle, giving him or her 10 days to respond. If no action is taken after 10 days, Nason said the vehicle will be towed to the village impound, located behind the sewer plant.

The owner of a tagged vehicle may also apply for a six-month storage permit if they're trying to repair or sell the vehicle. But if that six months goes by and no action is taken, the vehicle can be seized by the village.

Nason said police handle reports of potentially abandoned vehicles on a regular basis.

"It is ongoing," he said. "I think we've talked with at least three people in the last month about vehicles that were not licensed that we have not already tagged."

The village board agreed last week to sell both the abandoned vehicles as well as the five village-owned vehicles at auction. Mayor Tom Michael said the number of abandoned vehicles that will be put up for auction is a "testament to the police department's stepped-up patrols."

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Contact Chris Knight at 891-2600 ext. 24 or cknight@adirondackdailyenterprise.com.

NEWS SOURCE

Don't complain; be happy with Cash for Clunkers savings

By KEN MORRIS
Special to The Oakland Press

Just how successful was the Car Allowance Rebate System, otherwise known as Cash for Clunkers program? According to the official government Web site, it was wildly successful.

It claims that nearly 700,000 so-called clunkers were taken off the road and replaced by far more fuel-efficient vehicles. And that $2.877 billion worth of rebate applications were submitted prior to the final deadline, just under the $3 billion Congress allocated for the program.

Many dealers, on the other hand, were not so wildly thrilled. Their main complaint is that the government is way behind on the paperwork. They have not been anywhere near fully compensated in the timely manner they were expecting.

Then there are the consumers, specifically Michigan consumers. How do they feel? To my surprise, I’ve heard complaints from a number of program participants. They’re unhappy that they had to pay sales tax on the full purchase price.

Without question, a new car is a big-ticket item. That means big sales tax, and the state of Michigan coffers likely received a sizeable influx of tax revenue. In a state desperate for revenue, it clearly had to help.

So why complain when the sales tax paid was exactly the same that would have been paid if there were no CARS program? After all, our state tax code has remained consistent.

For example, if you privately sold a used car to an individual, the new purchaser pays tax on it. For a $5,000 used car with a 6 percent rate, the sales tax would be $300. If you traded in that same vehicle at the dealership and bought a new $30,000 car, you would pay sales tax on the entire amount. You don’t get to deduct $5,000.

Some states do let you deduct the value of the trade-in and just pay tax on the difference, but in Michigan it’s always been the full purchase price. You pay sales tax on the entire $30,000 even though there is a $5,000 trade-in.

When you crunch the numbers, the difference is not really all that great. Sales tax on $30,000 would be $1,800. With a maximum credit of $4,500, you’d pay taxes on $25,500, or $1,530. With a difference of just $270, I’m surprised that some Cash for Clunkers participants were disappointed. My personal belief is you should pay taxes on the full purchase price and be happy that you benefited from the program. Don’t find fault with it.

In this economic environment, there are a lot of financial issues to complain about. Having to pay sales tax on the full price of a vehicle shouldn’t be one of them.

The Cash for Clunkers program had a lot of winners, including eligible buyers, state coffers, and an ailing auto industry.

The only loser I see is a national debt that continues to climb at an alarming rate. Hopefully, vehicle sales will continue on their own merit without any tax stimulation. If you benefited from the program, by all means be thrilled and don’t complain.

Be thankful you don’t live in one of the states that collects income tax on the $4,500 credit and enjoy your new car.

Fax your questions to Ken Morris at 248-952-1848 or e-mail to ken.morris@investfinancial.com. Ken is a registered representative of INVEST Financial, member FINRA, SIPC and is Vice-President of the Society for Lifetime Planning in Troy.

NEWS SOURCE

Vardaman Passes Ban On Junk Cars

By LISA McNEECE

Vardaman Board of Aldermen unanimously agreed on a junk car ordinance for the town at the regular meeting of the board last night. The ordinance, which details requirements and fines associated with junk cars and junk yard violations, will be published in the next couple of weeks.
Also at the meeting the board agreed to several repairs for town-owned buildings on Main Street.
Aldermen agreed to pay P&R Aluminum's quote of $2,200 for repair of doors in the building on the east side of Main St. They also agreed to allow the Sweet Potato Committee to start using the building.
The board accepted the low bid of P&R of $1,725 for the replacement of an awning that blew away on the corner building. They added a stipulation that the work be completed before the Sweet Potato Festival November 7. The other bid submitted was from Dugard for $3,292.
The board also approved P&R's price of $175 to replace a broken window in the building Catholic Charities is using.
In another matter, the board granted a variance for Ted Panning to put in a gun repair shop adjacent to his house which is zoned residential. Panning said he planned to build a 12x20 wood–siding building for the businesss.
The board also approved:
•Clean up date for the town Saturday, Oct. 24.
•Setting a minimum age of 21 years old for volunteer firemen.
•Upgrades to the town's accounting computer software from BBI of $3,200.
•Raising part time city hall employee Maxine Blue's pay rate to minimum wage.
•Tabling a request from Laquanna Penson for a street light until next month.
Clerk Barbara Tedder reported to the board that Craig Williams' Farm had donated $471 to pay for spotlights at the Sportsplex.
The board ended the meeting in executive session with Terral Cooper, part time police officer. They accepted Cooper's resignation effective yesterday to pursue his BBQ business.

NEWS SOURCE

How Many Cars On Your Property?

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor-at-Large

I personally feel that yards festooned with junk cars are an important part of the American cultural landscape. I don’t necessarily mean stripped-out hulks up on cinder blocks, or rotting junk with the windshields caved in. But a residential property with a few serviceable project vehicles strewn around it always warms my heart–it says, this is a neighborhood where you can have a few cars and maybe even work on them in public without getting hassled by The Man. I’m looking at moving in the next few weeks, and seeing as it’s always easier to accumulate cars than to get rid of them, I can only hope I’ll be going someplace where the neighbors won’t mind me keeping a few extra vehicles around. So, just curious: how many rides do you keep at your place? And do you think you could get away with more?

Comments

Nismoke
Oct 7, 2009 at 9:18 am

I have a BPU 96′ supra TT,a custom nissan sunny n14,a starlet glanza v,toyota ist and a bored mitsubishi L200 pickup turbo


chevette-man
Oct 7, 2009 at 8:32 am

i have:
1985 chevette=garaged kept
1983 acadian=not running
1987 f-150=not running
1994 sunbird= not running
1996 civic=crashed
1990 astro=not running
1994 integra= daily driver
1985 atc250=runs sometimes
1983 atc200=junk
1970s sailboat with 5hp leaded gas outboard

and this is all on my property still


frostyking4lyf4
Oct 7, 2009 at 7:37 am

i have 5 in my yard 3 mine 2 parents


XTZTwinTurbo
Oct 7, 2009 at 12:20 am

Used to have just one, but now I’m repairing it.


ChevyS104Life
Oct 6, 2009 at 7:03 pm

I only have 2 S10s but wow , that guy really likes Geo Metros !


andydarko31
Oct 6, 2009 at 5:33 pm

2001 Pontiac Grand Prix GT-mine
1986 Ford F-150 XLT 2×4-Mine
1992 Ford Ranger XLT 2×4-Dads
2003 Dodge Intrepid ES-Moms

We have a small driveway. Can’t park side by side. So when it comes to getting the car in the front of the drive out it takes some shuffling.


TKTNUNEZ
Oct 6, 2009 at 4:08 pm

we got too many mine are 64 impala wagon ,65 chevy truck ,47 ford truck , 87 ford bronco ,92 cutlass cruiser wagon ,4 mazda miatas 2 for parts one project one for fun , rolled ford ranger , 76 toyota pick up ,86 mazda b200 pick up ,92 acura intergra , 82 mustang , 95 ford t-bird ,81 cadillac eldorado , just got rid of 98 cavalier ,,87 d-250 truck ,86 5th avenue , my uncles are 54 chevy pick up ,53 chevy truck ,78 chevy luv , 76 super beatle , and there about 10 cars that are custormers


NH_89
Oct 6, 2009 at 1:45 pm

2002 Acura 1.7EL (mom/mine I dive it 95%the time)
2003 Pontiac Bonneville SLE (Brother’s)
1997 Mercury Sable Wagon (Dad’s)
1986 Pontiac Acadian/Chevy Chevette 4 door 5-speed (mine)


soufigured86
Oct 6, 2009 at 11:29 am

well, i may not have many on my property (moms sunfire and a work truck) i just moved and had to store my vehicles t a buddys farm out of town, to sum it all up there is my 92 chev, my 77 cutlass, my old t bird, 3 iant lots, lets move on the the ones hes got, 27 older chev pickups, 19 ford pickups, 9 dodge pickups, 2 other cutlasses, a toranado, 59 impalla, 6 mustangs, 4 trans ams, one newer chevy pickup, 18 random gm cars, 7 random ford cars, 68 plymouth vip, 64 cornet, a pinto with a 460, 3 ramchargers, a d50, 5 pickups pre 55,and several others there are well over 100 vehicles there, most are junkers being stipped for parts, but many are running driving vehicles, and there are a couple over the top resto mods (cornet, pinto, vip and more) so thats quite a few cars, plus thats not counting the othere three lots, and the main one in calgary, the guy owns over 1500 cars, and atleast 100 of them are resto mods


BoltZ22
Oct 6, 2009 at 10:53 am

Not to long ago at my parents house (in town next door to a Credit Union parking lot), it was my parents 2 vans, my moms new Rav4, my brothers Silverado SS and Prelude, My Corsica & Cavalier, 2 Boats, and a snowmobile trailer.


RavenAegis45
Oct 6, 2009 at 10:30 am

Ive got a few projects and some cars just needing repairs. I recently came intoa 280Z with tons of problems but in good shape so far, but ive also got an Older 64 monster Ford Pick Up that runs but isnt really used. then theres a 2000 Taurus that needs a new tranny (Not an Easy task one bit), then a 82 Toyota Truck and ofcourse My Celica and my Moms 4Runner. Kind of Alot…. I think so lol


chevy1971
Oct 6, 2009 at 9:39 am

I don’t have as many cars as these guys in the blog but i have a small lot with a single garage and a small driveway. I have a 08 legacy, “08 saturn outlook, `01 subaru impreza, `03 chevy s10, `76 911 carrera s, and every weekend a `06 bmw 325i. my neighbors hate me and complain about the car taking up parking on the street. they call the cops on me for nothing, now the cops don’t even bother coming. One of my neighbors came up tome and told me to stop driving my Porsche at night because of the noise. i told her that i drive it to a car get together twice a week so that’s not going to be possible, she yielded and bitched at me so that night at 3;30 am i made sure to wake her up.


piston454
Oct 6, 2009 at 8:27 am

I think as long as the cars aren’t a major eye sore then it’s ok to have some on your property. I like having things neat and tidy so i say that if you have a few vehicles it’s ok when they’re arranged nice and there’s not a huge pile of junk parts around them.
I have a few vehicles myself… At one point i had a 1986 Ford Bronco 4×4, a 1993 GMC Jimmy 4×4, a 1989 GMC Sierra 2wd, and a 1998 VW Golf 2.0L. As i began to work more and some family moved home i realized that i didn’t have all the time i needed to keep my little fleet of vehicles going. I decided to purge a few. I got rid of the VW, the Jimmy, and the Bronco. I made my decision based on condition of the vehicle and sentimental value.
I also had another goal in mind at the time. I wanted to make room for a project that i wanted to take on with my father. I ended up buying a 1979 Internation Harvester Fire Truck from my town that i have a lot of history with. So now i pick away at it, little by little, and it sits where all the others once did. I find if you don’t make your yard look like the town dump but organize it instead, then you won’t be bothered. I do realize that i am in the country and it’s much easier to have a vehicle collection out there than in the city. Anyway, the moral of the story is to purge when you get in too deep and keep what you have looking as nice as possible. Good luck to all you project goers out there!


89RSCAMAROMAN
Oct 6, 2009 at 7:44 am

I told the wife that having all these cars around one day would pay off, and here is it thanks to cardomain LOL. we live in MTN HOME ARKANSAS We have a 87 jeep cherokee (3 inch lift, 305) 89 rs camaro, 02 trail blazer, 03 impala (replacing motor and interior) 92 chevy silverado, 1990 ford flatbed dually! oh and a 99 chrysler cirrus. I had a 95 650 honda cbr but i got rid of it. As far as the neighbors go they dont car and my one neighbor always ask if im starting a mechanic shop. also my other neighbor has a late 70 vette and early 70 cougar and late 90 accord and early 90 toyota and he also just got a flatbed dually and he has a late 80 chevy pickup. also as far as my town goes they havent said nothing yet!


gethomesolutions
Oct 6, 2009 at 2:28 am

““““““““““““
Sounds better
Sell House Fast


racins-10
Oct 5, 2009 at 8:48 pm

we have a bunch of cars 08 trailblazer ss, 08 trailblazer, 08 silverado, 06 monte carlo, 75 cordoba, 75 super beetle, 83 cherokee, 83 cj, 89 silverado, 83 trans am, 83 firebird, 84 and 82 camaro, 86 s-10, amc eagle, and a 91 blazer. nobodys complained yet


Screwed_Up_Tape
Oct 5, 2009 at 7:32 pm

I love this blog. Im from da nawf of houston. So everyone in my neighborhood has 3 or four cars upfront. We have a building so sum of our cars are inside. We have a 03 envoy, 05 tundra, 02 impala, 98 escort =P all upfront. Then we have a 67 lincoln, 73 cutlass s, 63 monterrey, and two harleys along wit sum lawnmowers in a building.


chevyman327nova
Oct 5, 2009 at 6:48 pm

i could go on and on but i dont feel like it right now


chevyman327nova
Oct 5, 2009 at 6:46 pm

fuck it there is never too many and people and the townships need to mind there own business trust me i know all about it i live at home still and gotta hear from the old man cuz my rides are the ones causing the problems and there just tryin to pretty shit up like a yuppie brady bunch neighborhood and not all of us want that and they gotta realize this is our life for some of us and those vehicles mite be worth money or have sentimental value or somethin and another reason would be we all cant afford a huge fancy garage to put them in but anyway this is just another thing we should ban together to put a stop to just let us enjoy our collection of cars because we can also get parts that way its cheaper they dont want us to do that though because they wouldnt make profit so fuck it


kingkevin420
Oct 5, 2009 at 6:26 pm

on a weekend, my girlfriends parents live in a subdivision and all of us kids always gather there, and on the weekends you will find a 03 audi A4 quattro 3.0L 6 speed, a 99 passat 2.8L, 99 jetta wolfsburg edition 1.8T, a 98 audi A4 2.8L, modified 97 jetta with a 2.0L turbo converted from deisel, 06 jetta TDI, 98 golf, and of course my lovely 89 bmw 325IX….so thats 8 cars surrounding a house that the driveway fits only 4 cars…no one has said anything


buickpimpin101
Oct 5, 2009 at 5:42 pm

Well Well Well, We have 10 vehicles at our house every night, and we could get away with more, as we on land out of town a bit, we have a 88 Chevy Beauville van, 65 Ford 250, 64 Buick Skylark, 86 mazda B-2000, 1987 Buick Skylark, 1984 dodge cube-van, 1948 ford F68 pick up, 2004 ford van, 1996 jeep Grand Gherokee, and a 1995 chrysler sebring, alot Huh!? Check out my garage! and i will return the favor! Good Article!


blownpony22
Oct 5, 2009 at 4:41 pm

we have an 06 impala, 08 t&c, 06 elantra,98 gsx, 01 mustang, 98 dakata, 99 mustang, 97 gs spyder, 01 s10, 04 pacifica, two bikes, 97 concord, two nova’s, trans am, 04 ram hemi, 08 hemi, 01 vette zo6, 04 rx8, all registered


misfitt1958
Oct 5, 2009 at 4:41 pm

well lets see at last count we have 12 / 3 we have payed for and not pick up yet…. heres what we got so far.. 1 88 gmc suburban/ 1 88 mazda kingcab/1 86 dodge 3/4 ton 4×4/ 1 83 ford f150 kingcab/ 1 84 chevy el cameno/ 1 82 chevy selvirado 4×4 1/2 ton/ 1 86 chevy low rider 1/2 ton / 2 84 totyota 4×4(1 parts trk)/ 1 79 dodge 4×4 3/4 ton (parts trk)/1 82 mercadies 300sd / 1 86 mercadies 500s/ and fixing to pick up a 85 mustang coup to put a 351w in/ and all the xtra parts for everthing pretty much fills the garage all these run but the two parts trks we are tring to find a small air plane hanger our something to store all of them for the winter


Alex Vickers
Oct 5, 2009 at 3:11 pm

There’s a 1994 Camaro V6 that wants to be a POS and not start (what can you expect out of a car that’s had the piss beaten out of it for the last decade?), that’s all that’s at my place.
-
But at my grandmother’s and my father’s place (they’re neighbors), there’s a 1973 Mercury Capri, two 1978 Mustang IIs, an early 80’s Civic, a 1987 Honda Prelude Si, a 1988 Honda Civic CRX (window louvers and a carb), my 1963 Volkswagen Beetle, a 1988 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale, a 1990 Honda Accord and a 1991 Honda Accord, a 2004 Hyunda Elantra (recently repoed), a 1999 Nissan Altima, a 2003 Chevrolet S-10, a 1978 Kawasaki KZ650-SR, and my old 1987 Ford F-150 that was recently towed away. Out of all of those, I think only five or six run, and only one is missing an engine. The others just need a lot of refreshing before they’d even turn over.


Nuvey
Oct 5, 2009 at 2:58 pm

I’ve got 14 cars.. And even more motorcycles.. Only three cars are registered though.. But no, I highly doubt I could get away with even one more car.. Even if the city didn’t freak again (Took 10yrs to convince them to leave us alone), I’ve still not got the room..


Pyrotechniques
Oct 5, 2009 at 2:43 pm

I saw that guy on my news channel last year!! He takes in, rebuilds, and restores the old geo’s because they get such good gas mileage, 60+ miles to the gallon I think?


StreetDemonzCC
Oct 5, 2009 at 1:53 pm

I live out in the country, but unfortunatly the couty law says only 1 unregistered vehicle around. So as of this moment there is my 2 RX-7’s, my Subaru, a Mistsu Mirage, and a Blazer. We had at one point about 6 cars in the driveway between 2 people. If I can find a great place with a yard, I will have tons of cars lol. We dont have a garage, and the driveway is mostly, some loose rock, and dirt lol, so working on the car here is hard to do when the raid washes away the driveway most the time.


1lowscort
Oct 5, 2009 at 10:57 am

I have two EXPs at my house, as well as my roommate’s Beetle and my other roommate’s Jetta. We had several more, but somebody called our landlord on us so we had to move a few.


FuryPaul
Oct 5, 2009 at 9:52 am

I’ve got four, all of which are tagged, insured and running. Two in the driveway (part of which is under a carport), two at the curb in front of the house.
One of my friends keeps telling me I should build a garage in the back yard, but (A) a two-car garage set the required distance from the property line would wipe out most of said yard, (B) including removal of at least two trees, (C) plus grading, buildup and paving, and (C) I don’t have an extra $25-30k lying around to build it.


PureBusiness
Oct 5, 2009 at 8:15 am

I’m healthy as a horse,but why burden the next generation with my crappy projects,besides;i already feel bad for storing a project for a friend that already looks hideous sitting in my driveway! nO,I’m not talking about my Truck either! haha


nissanchick860
Oct 5, 2009 at 8:12 am

My husband and I have 5 total, and we live in an apartment complex. Luckily we were able to rent two garages, so two are garaged and the other 3 are in the parking lot. Management is pretty relaxed so we haven’t had any problems with the number of vehicles we own, especially since we actually use our two garages for cars and not for storage of junk like nearly everyone else does.
When the time comes for a house, we’re definitely going to buy one with some property and room for a big shop where we can have a few lifts and what not so we’re not restricted on space for our cars and projects!


sarahsmile90
Oct 5, 2009 at 6:09 am

My two cars never make it into the garage and that is frowned upon in my neighborhood….


improbcat
Oct 5, 2009 at 4:40 am

I have my xB, and my ‘62 Comet lives in the garage, also there is whichever of my girlfriends cars (Saturn or MR2) she isn’t driving that week. Then each of my housemates has a car.

I doubt I could get away with more as that pretty much fills the driveway. I just had to cram my ‘62 Scotty trailer in the garage after a nasty letter from my town’s zoning enforcement.

I’m also limited in that my lease is up in April and I will almost definitely moving somewhere else with my girlfriend. Between us we have four cars & a camper trailer which will make finding a new place hell. More cars (especially parts cars) would only make it worse.


NEWS SOURCE

Unsightly properties: Officials address problems with enforcing ordinances

By Emilie Rusch, Journal staff

Driving down the alleys of North Rapid, Dale Schumacher can only sigh.

Junk cars, their driving days behind them, grow slowly into grass. Boats run aground far from shore. Abandoned appliances, old tires, piles of building materials, weeds and grass in jungle-like proportion — they’re all there.

And shouldn’t be, according to city ordinance.

“It just gets worse every day,” the longtime North Rapid resident said. “It degrades a neighborhood to the point where it’s a cancer.”

The city’s enforcement of public nuisance codes — the rules that prohibit junk and junk cars, tall weeds and snowy sidewalks on public and private property — has long been a sore spot for Rapid City residents. It’s not just a North Rapid problem, either.

Rapid City’s three code enforcement officers respond to thousands of complaints every year — 2,225 by Sept. 16 this year — from residents citywide, pointing out dead trees, unlicensed vehicles and other possible code violations. Some residents would say officers should be doing even more.

But code enforcement is a touchy line of work, requiring balance and a case-by-case approach, Community Resources Director Kevin Thom said.

A set of proposed changes, scheduled for a final council vote Monday, could make that work easier, especially when it comes to repeat offenders who let the junk pile or grass grow over and over again.

City officials — and even Schumacher — are optimistic the changes, including the possibility of fines for frequent violators, will meet the challenge.

“It’s our obligation to ensure we have safe, clean neighborhoods, but if you have one property owner who devalues the entire neighborhood because of his lack of maintenance, quite honestly, it’s damaging the neighbors,” Mayor Alan Hanks said. “They should be able to look to the city to step up and say: ‘We’re abiding by the rules. We maintain our properties. But here we have this neighbor that’s not willing to do the same.’”

Changes to code

Chief among the changes is the citation, which City Attorney Jason Green said was modeled off the uniform traffic citation.

Seventh Circuit Court Presiding Judge Jeff Davis will set the bond schedule for the tickets; Thom expects it will be about $80, including court costs. Police officers — not code enforcement officers — could issue the tickets to property owners or tenants.

Ordinance changes would also shorten the window those chronic offenders have to clean up a violation before abatement.

When property owners take no action, the city has the legal authority to abate code violations — whether it be mowing grass or hauling off junk — and then assess the cost back to the owner.

Under current ordinance, property owners have the same amount of time to fix problems regardless of how many times they’ve been contacted about the issue.

The change would give repeat offenders three days to clean up junk or long grass, instead of the regular 14 and 10 days, respectively.

“It’s not like we’re going to run out and start writing citations when the grass is nine inches tall instead of eight inches, out there with a ruler measuring it,” Thom said. “But it does give us the ability if there is somebody who just won’t comply, we have the tools we need. If you get a ticket every day for your violation, you’re probably more inclined to get it cleaned up.”

Tom Kurtenbach and Andy Chlebek, two of the city’s code enforcement officers, hope that is the case. They’ve already made mental note of a few tickets they want written as soon as Davis sets the fine schedule.

On typical complaints, officers respond first by going out to investigate and trying to make contact with the property owner. They explain the code violation and try to come to a voluntary solution.

“Some of the people are so down and out, they just don’t know where to go, and they start opening up,” Kurtenbach said.

“We deal with it on a case-by-case basis,” Chlebek said. “Somebody who has extenuating circumstances — they’re older, they don’t have the funds — we’ll give them time. We’ll work with them. But ultimately, the issue needs to be resolved.”

Most of the time, officers get voluntary compliance, but not every complaint resolves itself so simply, Thom said.

“You can have one case where you go out and talk to a person and they comply. Fine, you’re done with it. But you can have one case where you go back 10, 15 times and have contact with the person,” Thom said. “It’s not as simple as going out and noticing them, and then it’s cleaned up, and it’s done and you go on to the next one.”

Some property owners who won’t mow or clean up junk can require multiple visits — or abatements — every year.

In the worst cases, abatement is really just a temporary fix, Kurtenbach said as he looked out over one such home on North Street. That day — the day he served another 14-day notice of abatement — cars, bikes and a boat were among the debris strewn in the yard.

“We start over every time,” Kurtenbach said.

Plus, abatements aren’t a particularly expedient way to get things done. Officers must mail or hand-deliver official notices and then wait the 10 to 14 days before moving in. In the case of junk vehicles, residents also have the right of appeal.

“We’ve never had the appropriate methods to get compliance other than the abatement process that takes so long,” Hanks said. “If you abate someone’s property because they’ve not mowed their yard, it takes a month and a half to fix it. That’s silly.”

It’s not just North Rapid with problems, either. The city’s three officers each cover one section of town (Kurtenbach has the north side, Chlebek covers west of Interstate 190, and Jim Martz handles the southeast side), and they all stay plenty busy.

Just in the past few weeks, Chlebek issued an abatement notice on the new condominiums in Founders Park, where developers have left piles of loose debris and the grass to grow wild.

What can differ, though, are residents’ expectations of what is and is not acceptable behavior. On the west side, for example, folks are more apt to call code enforcement immediately, Chlebek said.

“That’s a key word: expectations,” Kurtenbach said. “Some folks’ expectations actually exceed what the ordinance reads. We can only bring properties up to compliance with the ordinance.”

“We can take things away. We don’t put things back,” Chlebek said. “We’re not going to tell you plant flowers, but we’ll make sure you cut down your grass and weeds and take the junk out of your yard.”

Both are confident, though, the ordinance changes and citations will go far in making their job a little easier. A new courtesy notice door hanger should help, too. The bright yellow cards notify property owners of violations and explain the relevant public nuisance codes without being confrontational.

The goal, ultimately, is “curbside compliance,” Thom said.

“There are some people in the community that think we should do even more code enforcement than we are, but there’s a balance between working with people, as opposed to being heavy-handed,” Thom said.

“Law enforcement has that same balance. You could sit out on the street corner and write every single person the minute you see every

violation, and you’d probably have an outcry from the community about heavy-handed law enforcement.”

City council supportThe mayor and council are, by and large, behind the changes. Aldermen already unanimously approved a resolution lifting an eight-hour-a-week cap on proactive enforcement.

What the ordinance changes and citations will do, Alderman Ron Kroeger said, is put pressure on the property owners who need it most: chronic offenders.

In his 12 years representing North Rapid, Kroeger has received his share of calls from residents with code enforcement complaints, many regarding the same properties.

“As it stands today, there are a lot of repeat offenders that know the system. They milk it to the very end,” Kroeger said. “This certainly will help solve that problem ... instead of letting them go back to the previous condition and wait for someone to send them a letter, and on and on and on.”

“It doesn’t cost money to keep junk cars out of your yard or mow your yard, the things that everyone should have the responsibility of doing.”

Alderman Aaron Costello, who worked with city staff on the changes, said cleaning up can be a tough sell to property owners. But if the city is serious about proactive enforcement, it’ll be education, not tickets, that make the difference.

“The only way to be proactive is to educate people before they’re in violation,” Costello said. “It’s almost a misnomer if you use ‘proactive’ and ‘enforcement’ in talking about these ordinances. It really falls back on the education part.”

Hanks said in an ideal world, they’d never write a single code enforcement ticket.

“We believe we can get 90 to 95 percent in

compliance just by letting them know and educating them of their responsibilities,” Hanks said. “It’s the five percent that are chronic violators that have a disregard for the impact they’re having on their neighborhood.”

And it’s that five percent that gets Schumacher so riled up as he drives through his neighborhood. He can’t wait for $80 tickets to start reaching repeat offenders’ pocketbooks.

“We need to put some teeth in code enforcement,” Schumacher said. “It’s been a long time coming.”

Contact Emilie Rusch at 394-8453 or emilie.rusch@rapidcityjournal.com.

NEWS SOURCE

Clunkers in Practice

One of Washington's all-time dumb ideas.

Remember "cash for clunkers," the program that subsidized Americans to the tune of nearly $3 billion to buy a new car and destroy an old one? Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood declared in August that, "This is the one stimulus program that seems to be working better than just about any other program."
One of Washington's all-time dumb ideas.

If that's true, heaven help the other programs. Last week U.S. automakers reported that new car sales for September, the first month since the clunker program expired, sank by 25% from a year earlier. Sales at GM and Chrysler fell by 45% and 42%, respectively. Ford was down about 5%. Some 700,000 cars were sold in the summer under the program as buyers received up to $4,500 to buy a new car they would probably have purchased anyway, so all the program seems to have done is steal those sales from the future. Exactly as critics predicted.

Cash for clunkers had two objectives: help the environment by increasing fuel efficiency, and boost car sales to help Detroit and the economy. It achieved neither. According to Hudson Institute economist Irwin Stelzer, at best "the reduction in gasoline consumption will cut our oil consumption by 0.2 percent per year, or less than a single day's gasoline use." Burton Abrams and George Parsons of the University of Delaware added up the total benefits from reduced gas consumption, environmental improvements and the benefit to car buyers and companies, minus the overall cost of cash for clunkers, and found a net cost of roughly $2,000 per vehicle. Rather than stimulating the economy, the program made the nation as a whole $1.4 billion poorer.

The basic fallacy of cash for clunkers is that you can somehow create wealth by destroying existing assets that are still productive, in this case cars that still work. Under the program, auto dealers were required to destroy the car engines of trade-ins with a sodium silicate solution, then smash them and send them to the junk yard. As the journalist Henry Hazlitt wrote in his classic, "Economics in One Lesson," you can't raise living standards by breaking windows so some people can get jobs repairing them.

In the category of all-time dumb ideas, cash for clunkers rivals the New Deal brainstorm to slaughter pigs to raise pork prices. The people who really belong in the junk yard are the wizards in Washington who peddled this economic malarkey.

NEWS SOURCE

Council relaxes ban on clunkers

Ogdensburg to allow one unlicensed vehicle on property if covered

By MAX R. MITCHELL (TIMES STAFF WRITER)

OGDENSBURG — Storing an unlicensed car on your property no longer will be a problem for city residents, but some city officials are worried they won't be able to keep junk cars off of people's lawns.

The City Council voted 5-2 on Monday to replace a three-year-old ban on storing unlicensed cars with a zoning ordinance allowing people to store one unlicensed vehicle on their property as long as it is covered.

Mayor William D. Nelson and Councilor Nicholas J. Vaugh voted against the changes.

"I've objected to it on the grounds that I don't have a way of knowing what's under the tarp," City Manager Arthur J. Sciorra said. "This could end up an opportunity to put a tarp over junk."

According to Code Enforcement Officer Gregg A. Mallette, his department deals with unlicensed vehicles on a weekly basis. With the changes, inspectors will start making more determinations about what is allowable and what is considered junk.

"It's really a discretionary call on the inspectors' part, but we're in the city every day and we try to keep an eye on this property maintenance issue," he said. "There are certain properties we know that are always going to be problematic."

While the new law may create a problem for enforcement, according to Councilor Michael D. Morley, the old law was unfair to the people of Ogdensburg.

"A lot of people wanted this," he said. "If your son goes off to college and he can't take his car, are you going to keep it registered all that time, or sell it because you can't use it the first year? There are the little things in life that laws kind of screw up when you have them one way."

He said the new law is strict enough to be enforceable and will not lead the city to become a junkyard.

"A lot of people cover up their cars now and it's a registered car," he said. "It's no different than any other law."

Mr. Vaugh said that along with enforcement concerns, he is afraid the changes will put the city back several years in its efforts to improve its image.

"We constantly see the push to clean up the city," he said. "This harms those efforts to clean and beautify the city for the current and future residents and visitors."

For Mr. Mallette, concerns about junk cars in the city are nothing new.

"It's an ordinance we've always dealt with. It's a constant thing to try to keep them down to a minimum," he said.

NEWS SOURCE

Cars Pile Up In Scrap Yards

Car Dealership Experiences Flood Of Customers

Reported By Regina Raccuglia


NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- After thousands of clunkers were cashed in across Tennessee, there's now beginning to be a different kind of backup.

From the standard lemon to a ride nicer than many on the road, Town and Country Ford was wiped out of close to 70 Cash for Clunkers trade-ins.

"It was nuts, and the flood of customers we had," said Angela Stewart of Town and Country Ford. "We finally had to stop dealer trading because we had nothing."

Stewart is still working through the paperwork for all the Cash for Clunkers deals. She said the demand for the used car lot went through the roof.

"Our general manager went to Florida to an auction to get us cars," she said.

As Town and Country's lots fill back up, Express Auto Salvage in LaVergne can't empty its lots fast enough. About 600 clunkers are piled up there, waiting to meet their doom.

"There's some vehicles that are nice and some that ain't so nice," said Larry Weeks of Towing Clunkers.

Several junk yards Channel 4 spoke with across middle Tennessee can't say enough about how Cash for Clunkers filled their pockets.

"(It) picked up the car industry a little bit. You know, it's gave us work, too," said Weeks.

But some said that of those who most needed this deal, most didn't make the cut.

"It didn't help people that don't have the credit or really need a vehicle. It didn't help the people that were in the need," said Stewart. "I guess it's to make things greener."

But Stewart and others said the guidelines the federal government placed on the program may not mean a greener middle Tennessee.

"The way Cash for Clunkers was set up, you could get 3,005 incentive for going one mile per gallon better on a vehicle, you know, on trucks," said Stewart.

NEWS SOURCE

Firefighters use junked cars to help save lives

Scrap yard donates junked cars so firefighters can tear them apart.

Fire chief says "no donation, no training."

Reporter: Mary Rinzel with Photographer Duane Wolter
Email Address: mary.rinzel@weau.com

It's no cash for clunkers, but there are junkers… and they're saving fire departments cash.

An area scrap yard is chipping in junked vehicles so firefighters can tear them apart. It's practice that could save lives.

"It's one of the more stressful things we do," Township Fire Chief Jack Running.

When someone is trapped in a car, firefighters have little time to get to them.

"The patient has what we term the golden hour. They’ve got 60 minutes from the time of the impact and crash until the time they receive surgical intervention at the hospital,” Running says.

Which is why Chief Running, who is also a training instructor at Chippewa Valley Technical College, says extrication training is so vital.

"You can talk and show video. You can explain; but until you actually handle the tools—that’s the best way to learn," Running says.

And in extrication training the most important tool might just be the car. The one used Wednesday night came from Alter Scrap Processing in Eau Claire. The scrap company donated 15 to 20 beaters this year.

"I just think it's the safety aspect. These firefighters want and need to be trained," says Alter Facility Manager Rodney Deaton.

Alter can still salvage the scrap regardless of if the car is torn apart or not. But, workers donate their time to drop them off and scrape them up after the firefighters are finished with them. Deaton says it's the least they can do.

"If I’m in a car and I have an accident, then I really want someone who's trained to help me get out of that car and save my life," Deaton says.

The firefighters want to get the most bang for their buck so they spend up to an hour tearing the car apart. Each is worth around $200. They practice breaking every window, tearing off every door and they'll eventually rip away the entire roof. So when those real calls come, the rescuers will already have a couple cars under their belts.

After all “practice makes perfect,” Running says.

Wednesday wrapped up an eight week class through CVTC. Ten cars were torn apart in the process. The goal at a crash scene is to have the extrication complete in 10 to 15 minutes.


NEWS SOURCE

North Haven business shreds clunkers into scrap metal

One of the main goals of the federal clunkers program is to get gas guzzlers off the road forever, so the program requires them to be permanently disabled, a task handled by auto dealers. But that's just the beginning of the end and, really, the rebirth of the Ford Explorers, Jeep Cherokees and Dodge Caravans that consumers have been trading in for new Ford Focuses, Honda Civics and Toyota Corollas.

Steel is a recyclable commodity, and most of those old cars will eventually return as something else another automobile, perhaps, or a beam in a Shanghai skyscraper or a washing machine in a home in West Hartford. First the clunkers must again become raw steel.

The recycling process typically begins with a wrecker, who buys the disabled car from the auto dealer that made the cash-for-clunker deal. The wrecker typically salvages reusable parts and crushes the frame, then sells it to a scrap yard like the one Sims operates off I-91, near Exit 9.

Mr John Sartori GM of Sims Metal Management's North Haven scrap recycling facility said that "The shredder is a very destructive animal."

"They used to call them 'fragmentizers,'" said Sartori, who has worked at the North Haven scrap yard since 1976. "Now they call them shredders."

Sims operates a 9,000 horsepower shredder in Jersey City that is nearly twice as powerful as the North Haven shredder. It measures productivity by total tonnage processed, not by type of item, and it could not say how many cars that North Haven processes in a day or year. Also, Sims usually can't distinguish between cars junked through the Cash for Clunkers program and cars junked for other reasons.

Worldwide, Sims handled more than 16 million tonnes of material in its 2008 fiscal year, including washing machines, cast iron radiators, bicycles, and refrigerators, as well as automobiles and non metals. Sartori estimated that automobiles yield more than 40% of the material recycled at the North Haven plant.

Although the Cash for Clunkers program appears to be successful by several measures, more than 330,000 cars have been traded in so far, most of them haven't made it as far as the scrap yards yet. Many dealers are waiting for reimbursement from the federal government before disposing of the clunkers.

From the Sims shredder yard, much of the scrap these days goes to Gateway Terminal, a cargo handler on the New Haven waterfront. There the metal is loaded into ships bound for China, Turkey, Greece, Egypt and other places overseas. Sims' North Haven yard even has its own rail tracks and rail cars.

(Sourced from Hartford Courant)


NEWS SOURCE

National Guard Pulls Junk Cars From Carson River

The Nevada National Guard has used a helicopter training exercise to airlift 20 junk cars from the Carson River in Carson City.

A CH-47 Chinook helicopter crew flew over several miles of the river below the Deer Run Road bridge to remove the illegally dumped cars Friday.

The cars, which could not be removed from shore, were later hauled to the dump.

Carson City officials praised the Guard, saying they had tried for years to find a way to get rid of the cars.

They say the Guard removed dangerous objects and restored the river's natural beauty while charging the city nothing.

Division of State Lands officials say private helicopter companies would have charged $8,000 to $10,000 an hour to remove the cars.

NEWS SOURCE

Vandals damage junk cars and two new vehicles

RANSOMVILLE—Between 15 and 20 junk cars, as well as two new vehicles, were vandalized sometime over the past week at the Youngstown- Lockport Road location of Ki-Po Motors, sheriff’s deputies said.

The junk cars, parked in a rear lot while awaiting demolition, had the fuel filler necks cut off and the gasoline removed. The same damage was done to the two new vehicles, according to deputies.

NEWS SOURCE

Is That Tub a Planter or an Eyesore?

By LISA PREVOST
Published: September 11, 2009

MONTVILLE

YARDS filled with junk and rusting cars, broken-down fences, piles of debris — these are some of the neighborhood scourges that Rosetta Jones hoped to eradicate here with a new ordinance prohibiting blight.

A first-term town councilor who has lived in this rural community for only three years, Ms. Jones figured that giving residents some recourse for the eyesore next door was a “no brainer.”

“It’s a historic problem here,” she said. “It’s been a persistent problem for some time.”

Her notion of a problem, however, looked more like a matter of personal choice to the longtime residents who turned out at a Town Council meeting earlier this summer to oppose a blight ordinance. Among them was Gary O’Bern, 68, a retired resident of Montville who calls such ordinances “terribly un-American.”

Standing in his dirt driveway on a recent afternoon, an American flag fluttering above his head, Mr. O’Bern reiterated his view that it’s nobody’s business if a taxpayer wants to, say, put a bathtub in the front yard. Newcomers like Ms. Jones are “unreasonable to think they can move in and expect things to change to their standards,” he added. “We’re all individuals.”

At a time that rising foreclosures and a tough economy are taking a noticeable toll on neighborhoods around the state, Montville is among a growing number of communities debating the adoption of new or tougher blight ordinances. Roughly 60 Connecticut municipalities, most of them larger, less rural communities, already have blight ordinances on the books, according to Robert S. Poliner, state ombudsman for property rights.

State law authorizes municipalities to make and enforce regulations preventing housing blight, and to set fines for violations of up to $100 a day. The issue has proven so contentious in some places, however, that elected officials have backed off, citing concerns about property rights and constrained budgets.

In Montville, the Town Council voted down the blight ordinance in July. A primary objection was a provision that would allow residents to file blight complaints anonymously.

According to Ms. Jones, who headed the subcommittee that drafted the ordinance, without the shield of anonymity, residents might be afraid to report a neighbor. “You never know what trigger it will take to push somebody over the edge,” she said.

Mr. O’Bern is among those who oppose anonymous complaints, which he argues might lead to charges of blight as a form of harassment.

Town officials in Seymour, a community in the Naugatuck Valley, reeled in its blight ordinance after just two years on the books. One of the first provisions to go was the anonymous complaint system.

“We don’t want neighbors fighting with each other,” said Robert Koskelowski, the first selectman. “We had one situation where someone was cited for blight, and it turned out the person who complained lived three miles away.”

The revised ordinance will also be less financially onerous. Instead of an across-the-board fine of $100 a day for non-compliance, the town will set categories of fines ranging from $5 a day upward, Mr. Koskelowski said. And cosmetic problems like peeling paint will no longer constitute blight.

In Plainville, in central Connecticut, a property owners’ organization has requested that officials look into a blight ordinance, but the town manager, Robert Lee, has advised against it. While Plainville does have more blighted and abandoned properties of late, Mr. Lee said, 90 percent of the issues can be remedied through existing housing codes.

“The other 10 percent is where blight ordinances get involved, with, like, how high your grass can be,” he said. “My concern with regards to that is we really don’t have the staff to enforce it.”

That response is of little comfort to John Susco, an elderly resident of Plainville who says he lives across the street from a house owned by an absentee landlord. A proponent of a blight ordinance, Mr. Susco said that this particular neighbor’s yard is often “in shambles,” and brings down the value of surrounding properties.

Asked about the offending yard, Mr. Lee acknowledged that it has been periodically unkempt — a broken fence, brush piles, an unregistered car. The town does its part to “get the guy to clean up his yard,” Mr. Lee said, adding that it looks fine right now. Compared with houses with collapsing roofs, the place does not fall under the category of blight, he said.

“There’s a difference between blight and someone being sloppy,” Mr. Lee said. “It isn’t a black and white issue.”

Anti-blight activists in Middletown have been pushing for a tougher ordinance for years, to no avail. Under the existing ordinance, the city puts vacant or decaying properties on a blight list.

The ordinance lacks a “solid enforcement mechanism,” however, so properties sit on the list indefinitely, said Izzi Greenberg, the executive director of North End Action Team (NEAT), a revitalization group representing a part of town with a high percentage of absentee landlords. “Even the process of getting on the list is hazy,” Ms. Greenberg said.

Earlier this year, NEAT invited city officials to a workshop to discuss the blight list, and wound up with an agreement to scrap the whole thing. An ordinance proposed in its place adds a code enforcement committee to keep tabs on problem properties, and imposes fines for noncompliance. The ordinance is to come before the Common Council for action this month.

“The goal,” Ms. Greenberg said, “is to see that no building ever gets to an advanced blighted state.”

Meanwhile, in Montville, Ms. Jones has not given up. She says that a revised ordinance is in the works.

NEWS SOURCE

Kingston Twp. ordinance takes aim at junk cars

New rule replaces a previous one in effort to make it easier to cite violators.

By Rebecca Bria rbria@timesleader.com
Staff Writer

KINGSTON TWP. – The board of supervisors passed an ordinance on Wednesday evening that will make it easier to enforce the removal of junk vehicles in the township.

According to township Chief of Police James Balavage, the ordinance repeals a previous ordinance that was at times misinterpreted.

Balavage said that under the old ordinance, people who were cited for having junk vehicles read into the ordinance that they were able to ask the supervisors for permission to store the vehicles on their property.

“It was defeating the purposes of enforcement,” the chief said.

He said warnings will not be given in enforcing the ordinance. The fine for a first-time offense for the storing of a junk vehicle is $1,000.

Balavage said the large fine is meant to clean up the township. Residents who wish to report nuisance vehicles may do so by calling township police at 696-1175.

Approval was granted by the supervisors for a water improvement project by Aqua Pennsylvania in a section of Midway Manor.

Aqua Pennsylvania will install approximately 4,000 feet of water mains on Woodbine Road, parts of Greenpond Road and Shadetree Road. An undetermined amount of new fire hydrants will also be installed. Aqua Pennsylvania will also resurface the roads to township specifications when they are finished with the work.

The supervisors also approved having the township manager draft an ordinance that would prohibit smoking at Center Street Park in accordance with the Young Lungs at Play Program through Luzerne County’s Tobacco Free Coalition.

Supervisors David Brodhead, James Reino and Paul Sabol voted in favor of the ordinance, while Jeffrey Box and John Solinsky voted against it.

A plaque was presented to Frances Gavigan and Donny Gavigan in memory of their husband and father, Ambrose Gavigan, by the supervisors. Ambrose Gavigan served on the township board of supervisors for 13 years from January 1976 to February 1989. He also served on the Kingston Township Home Rule Charter Study Commission during the early 1970s.

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Resolution to allow removal of junk cars from properties

By Scott Rawdon

Trustees passed a resolution to allow the township to remove junk cars from properties under certain conditions. Union Township Police Chief and Zoning Inspector Paula Green said a junk car qualifies as three model years or older, apparently inoperable, or extensively damaged. Green said the rule realistically only applies to junk vehicles parked outdoors.

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Amnesty for junk-car owners in Sacramento County, West Sac

Sacramento Business Journal - by Mark Anderson Staff writer

Owners of junk cars — or vehicles with overdue fines — in unincorporated areas of Sacramento County and in the city of West Sacramento are being offered junk car amnesty, in cooperation with Pick-n-Pull Auto Dismantlers.

The amnesty runs Wednesday through Saturday.

It doesn’t matter whether the car runs or not, but the vehicle has to be under 18 feet long.

There no charge for car or truck owners, and it will remove potential or existing code violations from their property.

People in unincorporated Sacramento County can call 866-520-9749. Residents in West Sacramento can call the same number to get their car towed, or they can get a $50 gift certificate from Pick-n-Pull for dropping the car off at the West Sacramento Pick-n-Pull location.

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Tow Truck Driver Lying Under Vehicle Survives Crash

By Greg Suskin

LANCASTER, S.C. -- On the ground, dazed, his head spinning, Chris Davidson could only think about his 2-year-old son.

"That's the only thought that was in my mind, what if something happened to me? What would that mean for him?" Davidson said.

Davidson is a tow truck driver in Lancaster County. Thursday night, he was trying to tow a broken-down phone company truck on Doc Garris Road south of Lancaster.

The Comporium Communications truck had stalled in the road. Two employees had placed orange warning cones nearby and were waving flags to alert passing drivers.

As Davidson was under the stalled truck trying to attach his tow cable, he heard a frightening sound.

"Within a matter of second, I heard a bunch of screaming," he said.

Then there was an impact.

"I felt something hit me on top of the head and just got slammed to the ground. At that point, it became just survival, just trying to get out from that truck as fast as I could," he said.

Troopers said 76-year-old John Curry never hit the brakes but drove his pickup truck into the back of a trailer that was attached to the broken-down truck. He was thrown from his pickup and killed.

Investigators don't believe Curry had a medical emergency. It's not clear why he never saw the truck in the road in front of him or the cones or the flagmen. The deputy coroner said it's possible the bright late afternoon sun was in his eyes, but officials just aren't sure.

"He was a loving father. He would do anything to help anyone," said Darrell Curry, John's son.

He said his father drove those same back roads his whole life and would've seen the truck and the people in the road ahead of him. He can't understand how this happened.

"If you've got cones sitting out there, you've got a man with a flag, anybody could see that," Curry said.

Moments after the crash, Davidson crawled from beneath the stalled truck. He suffered only a mild concussion.

Now he's grateful to be alive but also hurts for Curry’s family.

"I think that's something I'll carry with me for the rest of my life," he said. "It takes a toll on you."

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Tow Truck Accident Kills Employee

MIDDLEBURG, Fla. - A towing company employee was killed Tuesday morning as he and another man were moving a semitrailer in Middleburg.

According to the Clay County Sheriff's Office, 35-year-old Danny Little and another worker had just returned to A1 Towing in Middleburg with a trailer that had been illegally parked at the Orange Park Kennel Club.

Deputies said the trailer had slipped off the tow truck and Little and his partner were attempting to move it back on when it slipped again and rolled over Little.

Authorities said Little died instantly.

While deputies considered the death an accident, they were still investigating.

Little, originally from Georgia, had lived in Orange Park for the past nine months.

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More people selling scrap metal to make ends meet

Sue Book
Sun Journal Staff

A dealer in scrap metal says more people are turning to recycling, some out of desperation.

Metal recycling has been encouraged in recent years as a "green" initiative.

Recycling saves energy - 95 percent for aluminum, 85 percent for copper, and 74 percent for iron scrap - over using virgin ore and saves landfill space and greenhouse emissions.

But it has been around much longer because it makes good business sense: Scrap metal makes money.

A plaque on the front lobby wall at Goldman Metals on Neuse Boulevard in New Bern honors it as one of the city's oldest continually operating businesses. It was started by present owner Dale Goldman's grandfather Max Goldman, and then owned by his father Raymond Goldman.

It has been operated as a family business for more than 100 years and in this tight economy finds itself in the business of helping families get by.

"I am more determined than ever to do everything within my power to help people through these difficult economic times," Goldman said.

General Manager Vernon Riggs said, "Every customer that comes in our gate leaves with money. For some it means putting food on the table."

Beginning in the fall and continuing through the holidays and in the New Year, Riggs said, the customers selling metal changed.

"What I have seen in recent months, the faces of people pulling up in Lexus, Mercedes, $200 cars to $200,000 cars, were people ill-prepared to face these times," Riggs said. "I've seen the sick look on the faces of people who have lost their jobs.

"They are almost embarrassed but they were laid off for no fault of their own," he said. "I had to cut some of the best workers I've ever had. I hired them back, but you have to keep the boat floating or everybody dies.

"The number of beverage cans has increased exponentially with people out of jobs and they tell me straight out, this $20, this $60 is helping."

Riggs said Goldman's was the highest-paying company in the area for scrap metals for the last half of 2008. "I challenge anybody to find a better price," he said.

In mid-December, the company bought aluminum cans for between 60 cents and 62 cents a pound, depending on volume. There are about 33 soda cans in a pound.

Prices vary, sometimes dramatically, but scrap aluminum ranges from about 15 cents to 65 cents a pound, depending on the grade; copper has been from about 43 cents to $1.11 a pound depending on market and grade; brass ranges from about 50 to 75 cents a pound.

The company also buys old cars and catalytic converters.

"It does benefit us, yes," Riggs said. "But we're not recession proof."

The scrap metal recycling business has found itself in tumultuous times with record highs and lows in 2008 according to Riggs and to the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries chairman.

"We've just come out of the green boom," Riggs said. "Everybody was recycling and for about two years we struggled to keep pace."

He said the boom started about four years ago and ramped up for about 2 1/2 years, then in about a 45-day span in the fall, the three big automakers stopped buying scrap metal and the supply-demand cycle was altered.

Overseas exports already on their way ended up floating. About 300 ships sat off the coast of China, then the largest importer of scrap metal, as companies reneged on contracts.

Other large importers of U.S. scrap include Canada, South Korea, Mexico, Germany, Taiwan, Turkey, Spain, the U.K., and India, according to the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries.

Problems like the metal-loaded ships and other buyers of secondary raw products who reneged on contracts, prompted actions attempting to correct it. The Bureau of International Recycling encouraged the European Union to discuss the failures to pay for shipments and efforts to get extraordinary discounts with the World Trade Organization.

Riggs said that "a lot of people are pulling together to create their own market to buy, sort, separate, loading trucks and trailers, weigh and ship."

In 2007, scrap was a $71 billion industry employing 50,000 people. It included more than 100 million tons of assorted scrap metal.

Two out of every three pounds of steel made in the United States is still made from recycled ferrous scrap metal and 60 percent of metal alloy fabrication uses non-ferrous scrap.

"There are still a lot of people who can make money with what they have lying around their yard, in the garage," Riggs said. "And it still makes good sense to recycle."

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Lead residents oppose abandoned vehicle ordinance

BY WENDY PITLICK
Black Hills Pioneer

LEAD - Lead residents packed city hall Monday night to express their opposition to an ordinance that will limit the amount of time vehicles can be parked in one place.

The ordinance is a revision to the city's former abandoned vehicle law. The new law considers “stored vehicles” to be those which are not operated every seven days, and it states that no vehicle may be stored in public view for longer than six months. Exceptions include vehicles that are part of a vehicle repair business, for which the business owner has work orders on the cars, racing vehicles, and vehicles that are used for antique collection purposes and are currently licensed.

After a nearly two-hour discussion with area residents, city commissioners eventually changed the time limit from six to nine months, to allow for winter storage for some vehicles that are only operated when there is no snow.

City commissioners said the reason for the time limit is because under the old law residents with inoperable vehicles were licensing their cars and trucks and allowing them to sit as junk, in public view. The commissioners said they often received complaints from residents whose neighbors had these “junk cars,” which often had flat tires, broken out windows, and served as breeding grounds for cats or vermin.

But on Monday the commissioners' chambers was packed with residents who disputed the time limit. Several people who restore cars as a hobby, or use “junk cars” for parts in a legitimate repair business, spoke up to protect their investments. Others who have vehicles who they don't drive in the wintertime for various reasons also spoke out against the six-month time limit.

Wayne Newell, who has a “parts car” that he parks outside of his house to use while he is restoring a 1951 Buick, took exception to the city telling residents what they can do on their own property. While he was disputing the six-month timeframe on the ordinance he quickly discovered that since his parts car is screened from public view, he is exempt from the ordinance. Still, Newell said he disagrees with the proposed law.

“Why is it a nuisance to the city if it's on my property that I pay taxes on? I moved out here because there wasn't a whole lot of government here. There weren't a lot of laws and regulations that tell me what to do. I take care of my property. I take care of my vehicles. I have a hobby. I'm not a nuisance to anyone around me.

But Commissioner Les Roselles reminded the public that the city commission already regulates how residents should care for their property by enforcing weed and snow removal ordinances. Lead City Administrator Mike Stahl also said the intent of the new ordinance is to try and clean up the town.

“The intent of this is to keep people from just pushing, pulling and dragging a car in the back of their driveway and letting it sit there forever,” he said. “There are a lot of people (who have a problem) with that and that's why we've been asked to address this. I think that's what the intent of this is to get rid of those.”

Clarke Mack, owner of Performance One in Lead, and others told the commissioners they were trying to stop their business. Mack makes a living off of getting parts off of old cars to put on his customers' vehicles, and this ordinance could impede that, he said. But Commissioner Rose Burns said there should come a time when enough is enough.

“I can certainly appreciate that, but there comes a point to where that car that you might need (for) a part eventually it just becomes a nuisance,” Burns said. “It sits out there in the weather. If indeed that is a parts car, then strip the car, stores the parts and get rid of the tires that are going to go flat. I think we're asking for some concern for everyone else in the town who has to drive by it and see it. We're asking you to become a repair shop and not a junk lot.”

“But who is to decide what is junk,” Mack said, adding that many times he doesn't know what parts he'll need off of a car until different customer situations come up.

Commissioner Nick Krebs, whose family also repaired cars while he was growing up, said he was sympathetic to Mack. But, he said, “We get a lot of complaints from people in town who want us to do something about the appearance of the community as a whole. I think what we're trying to do is find a balance between what your needs are and the overall appearance of the community.”

“I don't think this is directed at a business,” Roselles said. “It's directed at people who just leave cars.”

Shannon Morrison, who lives in the Washington district, expressed opposition to the original six-month time limit. As a mother with several children who drive, but who doesn't allow them to drive in the winter, Morrison said the family purchased an empty lot that adjoins their house specifically to store their vehicles. Under the six-month time limit, Morrison said the family could stand to lose those vehicles.

“Winter is here a lot longer than six months, so as a resident, you need to look at the six month thing,” she said.

Shortly after Morrison's comments the city commission voted on a 3-1 decision to extend the ordinance timeline to nine months. However, since Lead Police Chief John Wainman, whose staff will be charged with enforcing the ordinance, was not present at Monday's meeting, the commission agreed to table further action on the ordinance. They will address the proposed law again at their next meeting at 5 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 26.


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East Bay Junkyard Fire Causes Big Smoke Plume

RODEO (CBS 5 / KCBS / BCN)

Contra Costa County firefighters worked Tuesday afternoon to put out a fire at an auto wrecking yard in Rodeo, authorities said.

The blaze sent a huge column of thick, black smoke into the sky over the East Bay. The plume was seen over a wide portion of the Bay Area, including from across the bay in San Francisco.

The fire was reported about 3 p.m. at JZ Auto at 700 Parker Avenue, according to a Contra Costa County fire district spokeswoman Emily Hopkins.

Hopkins said the blaze was "basically out" about 5:45 p.m., but added that firefighters would spend several additional hours conducting an extensive mop up.

Nearly 50 cars had burned out-of-control in the junkyard, located near the Carquinez Bridge off of Interstate 80.

The Contra Costa County Hazardous Materials unit responded to the scene, but determined a shelter-in-place order would not be needed.

There was no indication that the blaze posed an environmental threat, Hopkins said.

No injuries were reported and officials said the cause of the fire had not yet been determined.

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Towing ordinance still faces challenges

Frederick City Briefs by Erica L. Green | Staff Writer

While Frederick motorists can breathe easier knowing that an impending towing ordinance is on their side, the new city laws still face opposition.

A City of Frederick ordinance set to go in effect Feb. 2 will put a cap on impounding fees, require towing companies to inform registered car owners of a vehicle's removal if the car isn't retrieved in three days, and gives aggrieved customers avenues to take action against towing companies.

Clint Hoffman (R), a mayoral candidate and owner of Discount Towing — the towing company cited as the motivation for the ordinance against "predatory towers" — said that he is working with his attorney to file an injunction against some of constraints under which businesses have to comply with the new laws.

And Hoffman says it's not the once controversial $200 fee cap placed on companies for towing charges or the required 24-hour storage of the vehicle, or the $50 fee cap on additional 24-hour storage that bothers him.

"I'm happy with the prices, because it needed to be regulated," Hoffman said. "But they should have given us a few months to do everything we need to do. How do you get everything done in 22 days?"

Hoffman said he will challenge the requirements for signage. The ordinance requires towing businesses to replace current signs with larger, brighter ones, a task that Hoffman believes will take more time than the 22 days allotted. So far, Hoffman said he has purchased 20 new signs which cost $2,000.

Hoffman will also ask for more time to notify registered car owners of their car's towing. The law requires that if a car hasn't been claimed in 72 hours, the company notify the owner via certified mail—also an extra cost that Hoffman hopes to scale down.

Hoffman will also seek to eliminate the requirement that towing companies accept Visa and MasterCard because it adds extra cost to the company to buy the equipment.

Other towing company owners said they are adjusting to the requirements just fine. Dave Grimm, owner of Grimm's Automovation and a member of the city's towing advisory committee, initially objected to some of the financial burdens implied by the ordinance, but in the end said it all evened out.

"The way that the mayor and Board of Aldermen worked with the towing agencies — it was give and take. I think we resolved it as best as possible, it has to be fair for all parties," Grimm said.

County grant could give facelift to city neighborhoods

Partners of Frederick County's affordable housing agencies will be vying for funds that could give city neighborhoods a facelift.

The Frederick County Department of Housing and Community Development will apply for a grant from the state's housing department this month to rehab and resell foreclosed homes countywide.

Mike Spurrier, director of the Frederick Community Action Agency, presented the plan to the mayor and Board of Aldermen last week, asking for their support. The aldermen endorsed the program.

"While we don't get any funding, I think it's a good thing for the city," said Alderman Marcia A. Hall (D).

The county plans to apply for the funds by today's deadline; if granted, the $3.5 million initiative will be implemented by the spring. The cities of Frederick and Brunswick will be the benefactors of about 30 refurbished homes in areas identified to be plagued by foreclosures. The targeted neighborhoods in the city, listed as "severe" in the plans, are Hillcrest, Amber Meadows, Key Parkway and Whittier.

The majority of the funds will assist with down payments for homebuyers, while 25 percent of the funds will be used to acquire and refurbish the homes. The program looks to provide about 120 deferred loans to middle-class families.

"The minimum income is 120 percent of the median income for Frederick County," Spurrier said. "That's a significant income, so it's not necessarily targeted toward families with more modest incomes. But, it would fill a gap in workforce housing."

The program specifically cites providing affordable workforce housing for police officers, firefighters, teachers and city employees.

"We're hoping to get homebuyers that really have a stake in Frederick and consequently a stake in their new neighborhoods," Spurrier said. "If we can get more police officers and firefighters and teachers living locally, it adds to the safety and quality of our neighborhoods. And, it helps those families with commuting cost."

City residents and property owners embraced the idea, particularly as the city is grappling with issues such as overcrowding and housing code violations.

"Taking blighted properties off the market, and get them fixed up and usable is a win-win situation for everybody," said Steve Fox, owner of Fox Realty and a member of the Frederick County Association of Realtors. "It's really going to help communities get rid of some of the code problems like maintenance and it will get rid of eyesores."


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Cop admits taking bribes from tow-truck driver

By Jeff Coen | Tribune reporter

A tow-truck driver slipping cash to a police officer to get ahead in the business probably isn't new in Chicago, but one who wears a wire to catch a cop in the act of taking a bribe is a little rarer.

That's exactly what happened to Michael Ciancio, a former Chicago police officer who pleaded guilty Wednesday to taking money from a driver who was working undercover with the FBI.

Ciancio, who was charged last summer, admitted to pocketing about $100 a car.

Ciancio entered a "blind" plea—without making a deal with prosecutors—before U.S. District Judge John Darrah. A 21-year veteran who worked in the Jefferson Park District, Ciancio was accused of steering a favored company to accident scenes and thwarting other businesses, earning $600 and $800 a week. He resigned this month.

An ongoing investigation into similar bribery has seen federal authorities investigate at least five police districts in Chicago.

Ciancio's lawyer, Joseph Roddy, said his client made a terrible mistake and wanted to put the case behind him.

"We've all made mistakes," Roddy said. "He just wants out and to go on with his life."

Ciancio pleaded guilty to attempted extortion, which carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, but he likely faces a far less severe sentence. Sentencing is set for May 13.

jcoen@tribune.com

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City cracking down on local snow removal, parked cars

Ordinance Enforcement

By Christine Laughren, Staff Writer

Starting Wednesday, Ypsilanti will be able to remove snow from private properties, at the property owner's expense.

But how well this new ordinance amendment and other ordinances also on the books are enforced is another issue entirely; and it is an issue that has been brought up at Ypsilanti City Council meetings time and again.

Council had the opportunity do discuss ordinances a little more in-depth at Tuesday night's special meeting. Administrative Service Director April McGrath presented background information on the purpose of ordinance enforcement, general categories of enforcement and standard procedures to new and senior members of council.

"I just think there is a need for some understanding in code enforcement," McGrath said Tuesday afternoon. "Every code has a different way it is enforced, it is not like somebody walks around with a ticket book and just gives tickets all day; it's more than that."

During the special meeting McGrath explained that Charles Boulard, who left the city last January, served as the building official, the building director and the building inspector for the city.

As part of the city's restructuring, in an effort to save funds, McGrath now oversees a building official and inspector, both contracted through Pittsfield Township, as well as the new Building Manager Frank Daniels, Jr.

"Mr. Boulard did a fantastic job of keeping the majority of these issues in the forefront and how to deal with them and I think when he left in January we started to see some of those things fall through the cracks," McGrath said.

McGrath said she has been utilizing a Nuisance Abatement Team, which meets bi-weekly, for complex ordinance enforcement. She said topics range from issues with one property, to a neighborhood, to dangerous buildings. The Fire Chief, Police Lt, City Attorney, Ordinance Officer, Rental Housing Inspectors and Planner all participate in these meetings.

Issues raised by council

Brian Robb, D-Ward 3, said he had a big list of items he thinks have fallen through the cracks. He said he wants to prioritize the problem areas council would like to address and understand why some things take so long to enforce.

Robb sited JC Beal's Thompson Block as an example of slow enforcement. He said the City Manager Ed Koryzno told him Ordinance Officer Ronnie Monroe wrote violations in August and September with no results.

"What happened to those violations?" Robb asked. "It's like he wrote them and nothing happened.

"What I'm looking for is what is the next step, why didn't the next step happen and how can we fix it."

Another code violation raised by several members of council was the issue of parked vehicles on city streets as well as in yards.

The city prohibits parking on city streets for more than 48 hours at a time. Residents are not prohibited to park vehicles in their front yard and parking is also prohibited on certain streets between 2 and 6 a.m. in order to facilitate the cleaning of streets and the removal of snow.

Mayor Pro-tem Trudy Swanson, D-Ward 1, said she has an issue with residents parking their cars in their yard. She said she knows of a house near her that has had a car in the yard for more than six months.

Michael Bodary, D-Ward 2, Robb as well as several community members have also taken issue with the lack of clearing the snow away from on-street parking on main thoroughfares. Michigan Avenue and Cross Street were pointed out as specific examples of trouble areas.

Bodary said he doesn't see any reason why parking citations can't be written at 4 a.m to get the cars off the street and the snow removed.

"A parking ticket takes, what, 30 seconds to write," Bodary said. "You could write a few of them and not take a lot of the officers time."

Dave Heikkinen, owner of Heikk's Decorated Apparel Studio at 133 W. Michigan Ave., said the city's ordinance process is "disjointed."

"They want us to be responsible for the sidewalks and look what happens to the on-street parking," he said.

Heikkinen also said the city has been slow to clear the parking lots as well. For instance snow that fell Saturday was not cleared away until Tuesday.

"I know there is a budget issue but still, we want people to feel comfortable coming downtown," he said.

Other business owners shared concerns about snow removal during the holiday shopping season. Sheila Miller, owner of Simply DeVine, said the parking lots were not cleared as quickly as they should have been during peak shopping days and customers were complaining that there was no parking.

Thoughts from residents

Most residents say they are sympathetic to the occasional snow-laden sidewalk, tall grass or even trash cans being placed by the curb a day or two early. Many say it is the repeat offenders who tend to raise their ire.

Kurt Anschuetz said the sidewalks around the former Motor Wheel plant, now Bay Logistics, is always full of snow. The plant sits at the corner of Norris Street and Forrest Avenue.

Anschuetz said the walk to Eastern Michigan University can be difficult for residents coming down Forrest Street.

"It's just a pain," he said.

Dan Meikle said he is tired of trudging through the snow in front of the train depot, owned by Dennis Dahlmann.

"I don't think that stretch of sidewalk is ever shoveled," he said.

Meikle said idle threats from the city aren't going to encourage property owners to follow city code.

"I'm a little disappointed some neighbors could bring the value of my house down because they choose not to mow or leave cars in the street," he said. "If you don't want to take care of your house, then buy a condo."

Moving forward

Mayor Paul Schreiber was relatively quiet throughout Tuesday night's special meeting.

"My concern is that staff is already burdened quite a bit and I don't want to put any more burden on them," Schreiber said.

The mayor said the city has made several cuts in recent years, closing 13 positions. He also said the city of Ann Arbor is going through similar changes. Calls made to Ann Arbor's Community Standards department were not returned.

Superior Township Supervisor William McFarlane said his municipality has a part-time ordinance enforcement officer, who works about 10 hours a week. McFarlane said the ordinance officer supplies a report to the Township board once a month but mostly provides warnings to residents who are not in compliance.

"The goal is to give people a chance to be successful," he said.

McGrath said the city, which has almost double the number of residents than Superior Township, used to lean toward education and warnings, but she said the trend seems to be shifting to enforcement.

She said council members should communicate with her the issues they would like see resolved in their ward because staff will never be aware of every ordinance issue in the city.

"In the winter (the ordinance officer) is going to be focusing on snow and sidewalks and in the summer he is crazy busy with lawn, grass and garbage," she said. "Don't ever assume...that we are aware of a parked car that has been in somebody's yard for six months because if he's not looking particularly for parked cars that might not be in the forefront but if at the time he is looking at long grass while he's out doing his rout he is going to be looking for long grass."

McGrath said she though she got a clear picture of what council's concerns and frustrations are regarding ordinance enforcement. She said she would start work right away with Assistant City Attorney Karl Barr as well as the Ypsilanti Police Department to address the parked car issue.

"The expectations are there, we just need to adapt to them," she said.

The purpose of ordinance enforcement is to achieve code compliance so that the residents of Ypsilanti may enjoy a cleaner, safer and better place to live. Areas of concentration include:

# Improvement of neighborhoods

# Integrity of property value

# Compliance with Zoning and Building Codes

Five categories of enforcement:

# Property Maintenance, Blight and Animal Control

# Building Codes

# Rental Housing Codes

# Zoning Codes

# Life and Safety and Fire Code

Who enforces what:

# Building/Construction - Pittsfield Township

# Mechanical, Electric, Plumbing - Outside contract through the City of YpsilantiRental Housing Codes - Ypsilanti Rental Inspectors

# Blight, Property and Animal Control- Ypsilanti's Ordinance Officer

# Zoning Codes-Ypsilanti Building Manager

# Fire Code - Ypsilanti Fire Department

What are people saying?

"I just think there is a need for some understanding in code enforcement. Every code has a different way it is enforced, it is not like somebody walks around with a ticket book and just gives tickets all day; it's more than that."

April McGrath, Administrative Service Director

"I'm a little disappointed some neighbors could bring the value of my house down because they choose not to mow or leave cars in the street."

Dan Meikle, Ypsilanti Resident

"They want us to be responsible for the sidewalks and look what happens to the on-street parking."

Dave Heikkinen, owner of Heikk's Decorated Apparel Studio
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