There are a number of properties in town that council wants to clean up.
The issue of unsightly premises is one of the most commonly brought-up by the public, and council plans on looking into their toolbox of bylaws to see what they can do.
“I’m looking at this board if they want to bring some action to this bylaw,” councillor Bob Day said, during a Tuesday, June 21, committee meeting. “Are we going to sit back and allow this to continue?”
The town’s Untidy and Unsightly Premises Bylaw number 727-2001 states that property owners and occupiers keep their properties free of “any and all manner of garbage, discarded or disused materials... unused or stripped automobiles, trucks, trailers, boats... mechanical or metal parts... and noxious weeds.”
“We do have some problem sites in town,” mayor Ross Forrest said. “I don’t understand what we can legally do... I’d like to have these discussions with the bylaw officer.”
The town’s chief administrative officer Joseph Fernandez said that property owners that don’t rectify unsightly premises problems can have their properties cleaned by town Public Works crews, at the property owner’s expense.
“We have to be consistent and fair,” Fernandez said, after councillors named a few particular sites to be focused upon.
A meeting with the town’s bylaw enforcement officer Deborah Juch will be struck up some time in the near future to discuss how she can focus on this bylaw’s enforcement.
Saywell Park banners
Replacing Saywell Park’s banners, which have been in place since the Olympic Torch Relay, was brought up by councillor Jayne Ingram.
“They’re looking pretty sun-bleached,” she said. “I thought we could do something for the fall.”
With $2,000 budgeted for the item, various options will be looked into in the near future.