Nuisance letter proves a nuisance

At last week’s regular meeting, the Sundance City Council pondered what “next steps” are available when a resident is sent a nuisance letter but fails to have made any progress on fixing that nuisance once a period of time has passed.

Mayor Paul Brooks asked this question of City Attorney Mark Hughes, referring specifically to a letter that was sent out a year ago after a nuisance was identified by the fire chief. Progress was promised, he said, but has not happened.

“We need to go with the next step,” Brooks commented, adding that he does not want to see a repeat of the situation with a property near the Methodist Church that was not fixed for 20 years and ended up becoming the city’s task to abate.

In this new case, he said, the city landfill is no longer open, so assisting with abatement could be a significant cost.

Hughes explained that the city has the option to abate the problem and assess the cost to the landowner. He said that he believes there are notice requirements and asked for approval to move ahead with giving said notice that the city attends to move ahead with abating the nuisance and assessing the property.

“I feel kind of heavy-handed about it, but if they won’t work with us, we don’t have a choice,” said Brooks.

At Tuesday’s meeting, Public Works Director Mac Erickson reported on progress with the city’s permit for a new construction and debris pit. The application has been sent back to the Department of Environmental Quality with some revisions on the plan for dead animal waste, he said.

The application now includes that bones and hide, as well as composting material that meets certain nitrogen levels, could be put in the pit or, better yet, used as cover materials when the pit is closed, he said. The city is now waiting on DEQ to complete a 60-day technical review period, Erickson told the council, and Hughes is putting together a draft agreement with C&A Meats that will permit them to assist with the dead animal waste composting.

Karla Greaser of Trihydro provided an update on current projects, telling the council that negotiations are set to begin soon with landowners for easements required for the new Sundance West water tank. A 90-percent design review meeting is expected to be held in mid-September.

Clerk-Treasurer Kathy Lenz presented a change order for the Old Stoney restoration project for $108,421. The cost is for top floor windows and will not actually make use of grant funding, she said; the Crook County Museum District board opted to use its own funds and the bill will go to the district, but the architect requested it be run through the grant.

The council also hosted a public hearing for the Abandoned Mine Lands grant that has been submitted for a new project to replace the Sundance Kid water tank and run new lines under the interstate. No comments were made by the public or council.

The project is “one of those things we’ve talked about for years but we’ve never had any money to do it,” said the mayor. At number three on the city’s master plan for water improvements, the project is necessary as the roof of the current tank is becoming perforated, roots repeatedly attempt to grow into the base and the tank periodically causes problems, the mayor added.

In departmental reports, Police Chief Marty Noonan reported 45 calls in town over the last month and offered praise to Officer Welchie Patterson for the “calm, collected” manner in which he handled an incident in town during which a citizen pulled a knife on him.

Fire Chief Chris Tomford discussed the recent ISO report and the areas in which the city did not score as highly as he had hoped. This included public education, something he suggested could be improved through the creation of a fire auxiliary; he told the council he will be looking to find volunteers to start one.

Lenz told the council that Oneok Pipelines read the recent newspaper article that addressed the high volumes of garbage Sundance has been experiencing recently and a representative contacted the city to offer assistance from a fund of money the company has set aside for such purposes. The council approved a donation of $2271 for the Crook County Natural Resources District e-cycling event this fall and directed Lenz to ask Oneok to direct their donation to that cause.