With more rainfall comes more weeds – and a “few more” city-code violations.
The number of code enforcement citations issued for overgrown weeds inside Cortez city limits wasn’t available, but one official said recent rain has led to additional tickets.
“We’ve received a few more complaints than normal for this time of year,” said Municipal Court Clerk Carla Odell.
Joe James, a 30-year resident of South Madison Street, received a June 10 courtesy notice from the city telling him that tall weeds and rubbish in his yard were a nuisance. The notice instructed him to cut the weeds and clean the yard by July 1.
“I didn’t mow the yard,” said James. “I guess that’s a federal offense.”
James immediately cut his front yard, but it was another June 10 letter from the city that really irked him. The second notice, which included photos of several automobiles in his driveway and his fenced-in backyard, instructed James to remove the vehicles by July 15 or face a $500 fine.
“No one has ever complained about my backyard,” said James. “And no one should be in my driveway looking into my backyard.”
In an attempt to inspire other residents who have been “harassed” and “threatened” by Cortez code-enforcement officials, James purchased a half-page advertisement in the Cortez Journal last week. With the words, “Wanted Dead or Alive,” the ad was a satirical attempt to secure additional fencing in order to “keep the lawn cop from trespassing” onto his property.
“He’s a bully,” James said of code-enforcement officer Bob Lindvall. “He intimidates people.”
Odell, on the other hand, described Lindvall differently.
“He is really ambitious,” said Odell. “He wants to get the city cleaned up.”
In response, James said the city should be more proactive in cutting weeds along public right-of-ways before ticketing private-property owners.
“They got three guys in every pickup riding around doing nothing,” James said.
He said his greatest concern was that code-enforcement officers are able to go onto private property uninvited. James added that he didn’t file an official complaint with the city, per se, but he did call Lindvall.
“I didn’t threaten him,” said James. “I promised him that if he ever came onto my property again that I was going to whip his ass.”
The message was apparently received because three police officers paid James a visit. They politely warned him that he couldn’t threaten code-enforcement officials, and advised him to take his grievance to City Hall. James said he was planning to attend the next City Council meeting Tuesday.
