Wadena's push for property owners to remove junk from their yards isn't just about making the city look nice.
A list is compiled of properties violating the city's public nuisance ordinance each spring. Anyone who "maintains or permits a condition which unreasonably annoys, injures, or endangers the safety, health, morals, comfort, or repose of the public ..." is in violation of the public nuisance ordinance as defined by city code.
Accumulations of garbage, plant debris, exposed food matter and other refuse constitute violations, as do broken appliances, vehicles, machinery and furniture.
Some items on the list attract rodents and other pests. Other items, such as abandoned refrigerators, present a hazard for children and pets.
The property owner is notified and asked to resolve the issue. If the nuisance isn't cleaned up, Public Works Director Dan Kovar has members of his department go to clean up the yard such as mowing extremely tall grass.
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After a couple weeks of rain and now sunshine, many yards are getting out of control.
"We've had guys out there mowing," Kovar said.
City code prohibits grass taller than eight inches.
The property owner is then billed for the work done on the property. Property owners are charged a minimum of $65 for the city to do the work. If it takes more than an hour, it will cost them $35 for each additional half hour and they are liable for any damages incurred to city equipment.
