Lind town council discusses code violations, enforcement

LIND – Code enforcement issues dominated discussion during the June 14 Town Council meeting.

Code enforcement officer Henry Thoma told council members that the town had included letters on house numbers and unlicensed vehicles to residents through utility bills in previous months.

In his report, he said numbers marking street addresses were not visible on some houses. Meanwhile, other residences have unlicensed vehicles parked on city roadways.

He also talked briefly about “squatters” living in town.

He asked the council to take action on two related issues.

During Thoma’s presentation, resident Gary DeMoss spoke up about the letters he had received.

He was directed by Councilman Jim Dworshak to wait until public comments were taken later in the meeting.

The council initially continued with discussion of related issues, but then postponed more discussion to later in the evening.

During public comments, DeMoss said he had removed three unlicensed vehicles from roadways, but reminded council members that “once they are on my property, they don’t have to be registered, and you and I will have to fight

about that.”

DeMoss called the town’s effort to clean up unlicensed vehicles – some of which could be lived in – “prejudicial against poor people.”

According to DeMoss, the city is “putting the town at risk” by pushing people out of their current living situations.

“The people residing there are below the poverty line and by living where they area, they are not residing in tent cities and not creating problems for the town,” he said.

DeMoss noted the town doesn’t have cooling centers for homeless residents when it gets hot or heating centers during cold winter months.

He also said the town had received a grant to help cover costs to help out homeless residents, but that he doesn’t know what happened to the funds.

DeMoss said the homeless family living on his property have access to water and electricity in his home.