Elk Konnected

[Jody]

MAKE RULES AND FINES FOR NOT  DOING IT.. i.   ADD THE FINES TO TAXES AND SEND IN CITY WORKERS TO CLEAN UP OR TEAR DOWN.   iN OTHER WORDS, THE CITY HAS TO HAVE SOME CONTROL NOT THE PROPERTY OWNER.

[Teresa]

Having been married to city council member for 20 plus years, I know the headache that it gives those who are elected in that position. It is a sticky situation.
People can set back and 'say' what they think needs to be done, but is a whole lot easier said than done.
I talked to Mark about this and The Council is actually working on it. They have hired a "public officer" from out of town to come in and do an inspection on the properties..
But... it is a touchy situation.. Or it can be if they are not careful.

Yes, there are some properties that are very much in need of cleaning up.. but how much control do you want a public city officer to have over what you can and can not do on your own property?

I take extra care of my place.  I too would like for people to take pride in their home and area, BUT just because I go the extra mile with mine, doesn't mean that everyone has to have that standard and be fined if they don't. There are some places that make mine look bad..
If that person was on the council and made it his "standard" should I have to have mine like that too?

  (example) ... Someone doesn't like you parking your vehicles on the street in front of your house... or they don't like the fact that you don't mow as often as "they" think that you should...or your back yard has a big dumpster setting in it.( which some people despise)  and all around your house and garage is full of 'stuff'.. *the list and examples can go on and on*.

Who sets the standard?
I know that is examples of the extreme.. but if we start dictating what can and can not be in your yard..driveway..etc.. then you can open a can of worms that might not be too pleasant if the shoe is on the other foot.
What is acceptable to some is not acceptable to others. And unless the property has been vacated... I personally believe that it is no one's business how I have my yard or area.
And should the city do a condemnation? If so... the people of Howard has to pay for the clean up.. and the property owners get their property cleaned up for free.
Or they try to get a demolition... in which the people of Howard pay for that too.. THEN listen to the uproar about that.
Ask the people what they think about paying for all the clean ups. Not many want to foot the bill for that...and the property owners don't care. Most won't pay it if it is charged to them..

You get some who say "Well what about so and so.. THEY aren't cleaning up their mess in their back yard, but you are wanting  me too."
" And what about so and so .. ( who might be an  upstanding citizen of Howard)
" Why aren't you getting on him about his stuff?  You are only picking on me.."

It is a nightmare...

So the council has their hands full trying to do something without taxing the people to death and without putting too much into law that will bring the state in with their rules and laws, which take it out of the hands of the property owners like me and others who DO keep their places neat.

I don't know the answer... but I agree that something needs to be done....as the council members do... That is why they  are working on it.

[Joanna]

Well said, Teresa.  I would be concerned if there were too much control of private property by government (city).  The freedoms we have in this town are unimaginable in other places, and I enjoy them to the maximum.  I have friends & relatives who own property in places where it is dictated what color they can paint their house, or that they have to bag their lawn clippings.  I can't imagine living like that.

Then there is the trade-off.  I also agree that there should be a limit to what neighbors & citizens should have to tolerate from abandoned or just junky properties.  The hoops that the city has to jump through to deal with those issues are a big pain, but are there to protect other property owners down the line.  I sure don't have the magic answer.  I wish I did! 

I would like to note that the Lions Club here is putting a lot of time & effort into improving some pretty messy places.  Sometimes a big cleanup effort will spur others into action as well.  I hope that is the case here, and actually have seen some cleanup just since we moved in last year.

I do know that people are best motivated with compliments & encouragement when they are doing something positive.  And I sincerely appreciate all the friendly comments we've received!   
With the 'independent' people in this community (loveable but stubborn, obstinate, ornery & bull-headed ) ; Hearing only complaints & derision for the mountain of work ahead of them is most likely to make them dig in their heels & refuse to do anything.

[Tobina+1]

Remember that Elk Konnected was designed to have POSITIVE communication and not finger-pointing.  The best way to help forward progress is to be a part of it yourself.  So, rather than stand in your front yard and point your finger at your neighbor's house... try standing in your neighbor's front yard and look at your own property first.  Then volunteer to help someone else who might not be able to clean up their own yard (elderly, etc). 
I know there will always be people who go against the grain to just be that way, but think of it like this... one neighbor mows their lawn first thing in the Spring... the next neighbor thinks it makes his lawn look bad, so they mow theirs, and so on and so on.  Having a junk house next to yours makes your life easier because your house looks good no matter what, but if someone were to come in and fix up that house, then you'd really have to make an effort to clean up your house, too.
Negativity catches like wildfire; destroying all in it's path.  But positive efforts are like a well-tended fire that starts slow but has the ability to burn for a long, long time with each of us just adding a piece of wood to the flames every so often.

[Diane Amberg]

Even though we live in the city of Newark, our community of Fairfield Crest has a civic association that watches over that kind of thing. If a place really starts to slip, they will check on it. Usually they find there has been a long term illness or a death. If things really fall behind, volunteers help cleanup, paint and make simple repairs. The city has a similar program for areas and neighborhoods that don't have civic associations. We also have laws about long term outdoor storage, piles of tires and the like. A city inspector will checkout complaints, give them time to make other arrangements and even offer to help find some clean up help for them. We can't do any outdoor burning here and the city picks up leaves at the curb with a big "sucker truck" once a week during leaf season. A new problem we are facing, the city will no longer take other yard waste, such as  twigs and pruned branches. They are going to start a big compost pile of several acres about 3 miles from us, but people who don't have pickups will have a problem. We have a small chipper and will get a bigger one, so what we have will go on my compost pile behind my garden shed. The city picks up Christmas trees and chips them to use as mulch on the city's landscape plantings. We also have "Clean Up Newark" days and the schools, scouts, etc. do a great job all over the area. It is a fine line between the person who grabs every leaf as it falls off the tree and the one who has pokeweed, poision ivy and ragweed hiding their house. Sometimes health and public safety issues can help solve problems.

[Teresa]

We can still burn all our leaves and sticks right out in the ditches and front streets, alleys etc.
THAT is so nice to have the freedom of being able to do that. I agree that we have to be positive.. and I always also try to understand that things are usually NOT black and white.
To be honest.. I DO stand back sometimes and to myself grumble and gripe and say 'not too kind" things about the way someone has let their property go to pot. I say..." How in the world can people live in that mess, walk by it every day and NOT do something about it?"
Always  have had the benefit of growing up and living in a clean house and nicely kept yard ( thank you Mama and Daddy) that instilled in me the pride that I have for my possessions and property today.
But really~~~ living in a junk pile and filthy place just doesn't seem to bother some people. They don't "see" it! They were (sometimes and sometimes not) raised in that environment so it just doesn't bother them in the least.
Does it drive me absolutely crazy? YES! But then again.. how much can a group dictate over another.............

This is a good discussion actually.. and it will be interesting to see in the future how a solution from those in charge will hold up.

[Dale Smith]

How much can a group dicate.. well, I guess it depends on where you live.  I live in a swim-tennis community just south of Atlanta, Georgia, and the community totally dictates EVERYTHING about the community.  I can not change the color of my house or any portion of it, without written approval.  I had a new front door installed last year. It took two months to get the approval to have it done, and then another month to have the color of the paint I selected approved.  Also, I can not make any changes to the yard, such as cutting down a tree in the front yard that is dying, without getting approval. 

While sometimes these rules and regulations can drive me crazy, what is nice is that the property values of our community have remained high.  The community just down the road from mine, that was built the same year has no covenants and conditons, and it's not nearly as nice now.  When I start to whine about our rules, all I have to do is drive a short distance and then I'm thankful that my neighborhood has remained a showplace. 

Howard is a very pretty community... it would be great if everybody took pride in it and worked to keep it that way.

[Joanna]

...To be honest.. I DO stand back sometimes and to myself grumble and gripe and say 'not too kind" things about the way someone has let their property go to pot. I say..." How in the world can people live in that mess, walk by it every day and NOT do something about it?"

I didn't mean to imply that I don't do the same thing...  a lot... 
I am working to improve myself, be more understanding and tolerant.  I don't manage that real well yet, and I have a long way to go.  A very long way.

[Jo McDonald]

Joanna, I really like your profile picture.  You are as cute as a bug.  I wish everyone would put a profile photo on here, then we could "talk" to a person. 

[Janet Harrington]

No.  I want you to talk to the butt of my buffalo.