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Code Enforcement Meeting Draws Unhappy Residents
September 22, 2009
The Century Town Council heard from a couple of unhappy residents Monday night at meeting to discuss how to proceed with alleged code enforcement violators.
The council had called the meeting to discuss 14 code enforcement violation cases that have reached the point of heading to a special magistrate or abatement by the town. Council members had hoped to meet with Sandra Slay, the chief of the county’s code enforcement division, but she was unable to attend due to an illness.
The council had also hoped to hear from the 14 alleged violators after they published their names in a display advertisement in the Tri-City Ledger. Two of the 14 were at the meeting, and neither was happy about having their names printed in the newspaper at the town’s request.
“Can I get an apology please?” asked Herman Pleasant, owner of a property in the 7000 block of Williams Street that was on the published list. Pleasant presented documentation to the council that he said indicated that he had complied with code enforcement’s requests as of last March. He declined to let the council make a copy of his paperwork.
“I don’t understand why y’all are doing something different that what code enforcement says,” Pleasant told the council. “They say the case is closed since March.”
“They provided us with a list,” Council President Ann Brooks said, indicating that Escambia County Code Enforcement had provided the list of 14 violators to the town.
“Code enforcement is doing one thing, and y’all are going around doing something different,” Pleasant said.
Eddie Stallworth, appearing on behalf the estate of John Stallworth, questioned why the property was on the list. The list indicated that the property was at “Gilford Street and Salter Lake (Road)”, two streets that do not intersect.
“I am not in the city limits; that is not my property, Stallworth said, “and those streets don’t connect.”
“The three houses they are talking about are definitely in the city limits,” Mayor Freddie McCall said, describing the property as being behind Pilgrim Lodge Baptist Church.
Brooks said that if the property turns out to not be in the city limits, it would be removed the council’s list.
Pleasant also question a lot on Ramar Street that is overgrown because the property is owned by the Town of Century.
“Why isn’t the city taking care of their own (property)?” Pleasant asked. McCall replied that the town had already made plans to clean the property as soon as a survey is complete to determine the exact property boundaries on the lot.
When the Century Town Council met September 14 to discuss the code enforcement violations, McCall passed out a list of the 14 violators, but he had removed names and addresses from the list.
“I did not want to make a public spectacle out of them,” the mayor said at that meeting. “We are not hiding anything.” “We did not want to be the cause of that information being in the paper,” Council President Ann Brooks added.
Monday night, McCall said, “When we took the names off, maybe I was wrong…I don’t know if it was the right thing to do, but it got some attention.”
The mayor then told Pleasant, “I am big enough, and I will apologize to you if I am wrong.”
Pictured above: Herman Pleasant, left, waits his turn to address the Century Town Council Monday night while Eddie Stallworth, right, listens. Pictured inset: Century Council members (L-R) Ann Brooks, Sharon Scott and Henry Hawkins review code enforcement documentation. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Comments
28 Responses to “Code Enforcement Meeting Draws Unhappy Residents”
The mayor himself was the first one ticketed wasn’t he??? And I think one or two of the council members as well, it’s not a matter of pick and choose “who” they want. They see a property in disrepair or unkept, they ticket it.
Trust me, I can work all day on my property doing things too, but if I’m not getting rid or cleaning up the things that go the ticket to begin with, it’s not going to do any good.
But, I agree….It is fall Cool weather why do the churches not all decide to get all together and submit all the names of folks around town they think needs help in cleaning up and ALL THE CHURCHES work together and divide to work over a couple of weekends to help the elderly and disabled. I think that would be wonderful!
I can see all the churches (Abundant Life to Mt. Zion) working together, that would show unity and caring in the town!
I’ve noticed whenever someone thinks WWJD, they sometimes use the question to tell others what they must do rather than as intended use it to decide their personal course of action.
or so it seems to me
As was said, not one had called the mayor for him to help them find someone. There are groups to help people but you have to care enough to call someone to get the help. They don’t just go out looking for you junk. Where is that christian help? Love thy brother as thy self. Instead of like you., jessie, Yes WWJD not sit and complain like you have but HELP these people. And I think the town has got a code on a piece of it’s property. And they fixed it.
let the property owners sign a release and put the prison to work….. great idea
To Wonder
The prisoners are not allowed on private property.
yeap the town should clean up their own mess before the fines go out. Who holds the town accountable for their crap????????????
the town has their own set of problems with junked up property …..
Are you guys aware of how much work eddie stallworth has done on his property in the last six months???? this guy is in his 70’s and he gets in his yard every day and works his butt off…
WWJD……………VERY VERY VERY Very good comment… I think that is the best comment ever posted on this site…. GOOOD ON YOU!!!!!
If the homes and yards are not in good repair by now, either it’s because of laziness or maybe the person is elderly and just simply needs some help?
I would think that the members of the local community churches could reach out and volunteer to help their fellow man and their hometown at the same time. Have a community work day once a month. Go to the city counsel, request a name from the list and go and help them to get it right. Your good deeds will not go unnoticed I promise. WWJD
“wonder”
Highway 97 does not pass through or is it anywhere near Century.
When you come down 97 which lots of people do comimg off interstate going to the beach it is nasty and lots of yards on the main street coming out of Century going back toward Pensacola is a mess. Can the prisoners help clean up the eldery people yards. I see them all the time working on the roads. I have also saw them picking up garbage a long side the road.
What I would like to know ,is? These folks who are being cited with these code violations, do they think there are clean-up fairies who just appear out of no where and clean -up your old junk that you leave lying around in the yard for years until the City Council finally gets around to getting a Code of some kind into effect? Like the cemeteries you hear about that never get taken care of. You bury your loved one there why do you sit around on your behind and wait for someone else to clean it up?If you live on the Highway or right of the Highway in Century it is your responsibility to keep you property up. I don’t get it!!!!!!
Mrs. Jay, no one is trying to take anything from the citizens. To pick up the junk lying around their place and cutting the grass is not costing them anything. My goodness it’s been five years since hurricane Ivan came along, if they aren’t pretty much back to normal my guess is they never will be. I can assure you we struggle to make ends meet as much as much folks do, but that is no excuse for having a junked up yard.
just clean up your property, you do not have to do a make over on your house.its hard for one person to take pride in there yard when no one else will keep there yard clean.TAKE PRIDE IN YOUR SELF. GOD BLESS AMERICA!
This council in this town is taken advantage of others bad situations (their citizens).The town and the citizens have been thru hell and back with distruction of property from hurricanes in the last 5years until I don’t see how they can keep up and now the city is stressing these poor weather beaten people at a time like this! hurricane season has begun along with the economy at it’s worst.Give these people a break and work with then.Put a program in place to help your citizens clean and keep up their properties.Stop trying to take from them haven’t they lost enought.
Anywhere else they use the guys with the guns to enforce codes, i.e. sherrif deputies… and tote the code breakers off to jail.
This is absolutely ridiculous.
Mr/Ms City Council needs counceling: The city council riding around looking for violations??? That is what Code Enforcement is for. Why would you want to pay to have Code Enforcement then pay the salary of a city employee to double check everything. Why stop there, why not have a third or fourth person to check them? Not with my tax dollars.
jessie28: It looks to me like the council is trying very hard to make improvements to the town of Century. Evidently you have no earthly idea how anything happens. As far a meetings go and how stupid the public can be, try going to any county/city meeting in the U.S.
So you want to criticize? When you actually walk in their shoes THEN tell me what you can or would try to do differently.
Jessie, I don’t appreciate you calling our council idiots. They are not idiots! These council members have a headache with trying to please everyone (which I think they have realized they can’t) If people would just clean up there would be no problem with them being cited , and having their named published for everyone to see. Maybe only fourteen has been cited so far, but there are a lot more that need it. Yes ? you are right a few bad places make the whole town look bad.
hawkins vs mccall vs brooks and the list goes on and on. no goals completed
these guys are ALL idiots! period! Everything has to be an arguement and they cant get anything accomplished!
CityCouncil: It is nice to know you have an attorney. The Century City Council still has a lot of work to do to keep from looking stupid when they do things, maybe that will improve…..probably not. But at least things are kind of getting done, this is a start. Who would have thought five years ago Century would have a code of any kind? Now, if these folks will stop making excuses and clean up. Why does anyone have to be told or threatened clean up or receive a fine? Are they waiting for someone to do it for them? Probably.
The towh of Century VS the residents a even match.
Sounds like you folks in Century need a whole new set of City Council members, as these folks appear basically inept. How hard could it be for these office dwellers to take a ride around town and verify information before embarrassing folks in a public forum? It was only 14 properties and Century just isn’t that big of a town. Shame on you Century City Council, if it had been my name and property you published erroneously you would be answering to my attorney.
What’s sad is that there has to be code enforcement for this. Why can’t we just take a little pride in our community and make it look nice?
Can someone explain to me why, if Herman Pleasant’s document was authentic, he wouldn’t let the Council make a copy? What harm could there be? If they had a copy, they could investigate why his property was still on their list.
Just fix up, clean Up and straighten up and keep it that way. That is all that is needed. If the house needs a painting then paint it. Paint is cheap at Big Lots, Freds and even the Dollar Stores when the have it. Bondurants Lowes and Home Depot has Paint and even Marvins and they are all just a plesant ride away. Just simply take pride in ownership People……………………………………………………
Thanks Town of Century and Town council for pushing for clean up.
The thing is that if you ride up 29 through Century, all you see is trash which makes Century itself look like the slums. There are yards that look like a tornado came through. Im sure that not everyone in Century lives like that but it makes everyone look bad.
the town is out of control on this subject… they cannot get nothing right