Kellyville Police Chief and Town Administrator Shelly Garrett has been busy. At Tuesday evening’s Town meeting, Garrett said that the police department has issued many Controlled Dangerous Substance (CDS) charges recently, in addition to answering a multitude of other calls.
On the administration side, Garrett said that the Town has been making great strides in handling abatement and code enforcement issues, such as an excess of weeds, overgrown lawns, and trash problems. There were originally 12 properties on their list, and all but 1 has complied with the Town’s requests.
The splash pad will be out of order until its electrical issues have been resolved, and a sign on the highway has a worn out breaker that is being replaced.
The Board unanimously voted to give Town employees raises. Reserve employees’ hourly rate will increase from $10 an hour to $12 and full-time employees will now receive $15.50 an hour.
One mobile home site plan application, one home building plan, two lot splits, and two abatements were approved. One mobile home application was continued until the owner is able to have a lot split approved on the property.
Trustee Terry Voss and his wife submitted a mobile home site plan application for their son to inhabit next to their house. They received a variance to allow him to live in a travel trailer on their property a year ago.
Last month the Board gave the family a 90-day extension on the variance to bring the situation into compliance. Removing the travel trailer and installing the new mobile home will “solve all the problems.” The application was unanimously approved by the Board, with Mr. Voss abstaining from the vote.
An abatement was heard for a property located at 621 East Camden Avenue. Garrett reported that the property has been a problem since she came to Kellyville, noting that it hasn’t been mowed since she arrived, except once last year by Public Works Director Pete Little. She said they receive “call after call” about this abandoned home, and that they have had to remove juveniles from it, nothing is secured, windows are busted out, and floors are falling through. “It’s a safety hazard and a fire hazard,” Garrett said. “If someone gets hurt there at this point, we could be liable.”
She asked that the Board approve the abatement so that the Town can move forward with the next step, which is demolition. The owner, who was not present at the meeting, has 60 days to perform the demo himself, or the Town will have to contract it out. This was unanimously approved.
Another abatement was heard for a home located at 224 East Allen Street. Two brothers were in attendance and spoke to the Board during the public hearing. They said they own the property along with their sister, and that they have always tried to keep up with cleaning up the property, but that they are no longer physically capable of doing so.
There was a discussion about them selling the house to a nearby church or signing it over to the church, who would perform the demolition, which would cost approximately $7,200, according to Garrett.
Garrett told the brothers, “We are just trying to make it safe.” She said that police officers fell through the floors while removing a homeless man from the property at one point, that children have wandered in it in the past, and that in general it is “a big safety hazard.”
These owners also have 60 days to demo the house, sell or sign it over to the church to demo it, or the Town will have to pay to have it done.
