Jeannette officials start 'quality of life' crackdown
Fire Chief Vance Phillips can drive down many Jeannette streets and see “quality of life” violations.
A television is joined by a computer printer in a North Second Street yard. Next door, several baby items apparently are being stored just off of a front porch.
A street over, two couches sit on the sidewalk that the sanitation department will not haul away.
“We've knocked on 100-plus doors, giving people a month's notice, easily, on the ordinance and what it entails,” Phillips said.
Now, it's time to start enforcement. Phillips issued 38 tickets on Thursday.
“We don't want to have to issue any of these, but there's a need at this point,” he said. “The goal is that this ordinance is not used.”
City council approved a “quality of life” ordinance in February that allows $25 tickets for maintenance violations to be immediately issued. Examples of violations include furniture in yards, junk vehicles or garbage placed in bags that weren't purchased at city hall.
Scott Avenue resident Glenn Stauffer said he hopes the rules make a difference. He and Blue, his 5-year-old Doberman pinscher, daily see trash, broken glass, needles and food scraps littering the town.
“I walk my dog, and I have to be cautious to watch him constantly,” Stauffer said.
Blight is a top issue residents identified in a recently completed comprehensive plan for Jeannette's future. City officials said the ordinance directly targets that problem. Manager Michael Nestico said results will come slowly as residents become accustomed and adapt.
“It's a changing of the culture within the community,” he said.
Phillips has an electronic tablet to input violation information and create a ticket. He takes a photo of the violation and uses a small wireless printer to print out the ticket, which goes into a plastic bag and is affixed to the front entryway of the violating home.
He plans to follow the previous day's garbage truck route on a daily basis.
“On Tuesday, I will follow Monday's sanitation route because everything should be cleaned up,” he said. “We will, of course, answer immediate complaints or blight concerns that we do have come in daily.”
The department receives eight calls daily about blight and a few additional reports through the city's website.
“We could easily issue 30 to 40 (tickets) a day,” he said.
The “quality of life” ordinance was created to eliminate the need for notices to be sent to violators prior to citations being filed, which allows for a quicker response in some cases and correction of the problem. The current system for property maintenance violation still exists and involves a written notice and a waiting period for a remedy that may or may not occur, in addition to administrative time and costs spent in the judicial system.
On Thursday, Phillips pulled over on Magee Avenue and noticed a kitchen sink and countertop, along with a few other items, lying on the sidewalk outside of a home.
“That's new from yesterday,” he said.
“Everything including the kitchen sink in that one,” said fire Capt. Bill Frye.
If a violating property is occupied by its owner, the notice and ticket will be left at the door. If it is a rental property, the notice will be left at the door and the property owner will receive a notice and ticket in the mail.
“It is strictly, ‘Here is your ticket, please clean it up. If not, we'll see you tomorrow,' ” Phillips said.
Renatta Signorini is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach her at 724-837-5374.
