Minutes - Council Work Session - 06/24/2014

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Councilmember Johns thanked Fire Chief Kapler for the information provided and stated she felt that until the next level is considered, this discussion will not progress. Mayor Strommen concurred and stated the Study Group has checked in on a number of occasions but now feels it has reached a `wall' until additional information can be received. She stated this point is another natural opportunity for checking in. Mayor Strommen stated this item is on tonight's Consent Agenda and asked if there was general consensus for support. Councilmembers Johns, LeTourneau, and Kuzma indicated support. Councilmember Riley indicated he does not support this effort and would request to pull this item from tonight's Consent Agenda. 2.02: Code Enforcement Discussion Police Chief Way reviewed the staff report, noting at a recent Work Session, the Council had raised several questions in regard to the current practice of enforcing the Public Nuisance Ordinance for Code Enforcement. Code Enforcement Intern Lindahl described how she had gathered information and presented graphs depicting the number of Code violations from May 7, 2013, to June 18, 2014, noting 65% (236) related to blight and 35% (128) related to parking/junk vehicles. Code Enforcement Intern Lindahl presented a graph depicting a year -to -year comparison of complaints /violations from May 2012 to May 2013 (172) and May 2013 to May 2014 (364), identifying a 159% increase in blight complaints /violations and a 58% increase in . parking/vehicle complaints /violations. She stated some of this increase could be accounted for because of staff's increased ability to document complaints. Code Enforcement Intern Lindahl then presented a graph depicting the percentage of code compliance from May 7, 2013 to June 18, 2014. It identified that 82% complied after receiving a notice; 9% complied after receiving an administrative citation; 5% complied after receiving a County citation; 3% complied after receiving an abatement letter; and, only 1% of the cases resulted in abatement. Councilmember Riley asked if the majority of blight citations was for long grass. Code Enforcement Intern Lindahl stated most was for long grass but it could also be for things like waste in the yard or tree branches piled in the yard. Councilmember Backous asked if this enforcement was based on complaint. Code Enforcement Intern Lindahl stated that is correct, the City only inspects upon receiving a resident complaint. City Council Work Session / June 24, 2014 Page 4 of 8