Scott City Mayor Norman Brant wants the city to do more to get rid of eyesores around town

Scott City�s junk cars and trucks need to go, along with discarded couches, stoves and mattresses, Mayor Norman Brant has vowed.

The recently elected mayor said he is meeting with officials about how to clean up these eyesores on commercial and residential properties. Brant said city officials also are looking at possibly establishing a rental inspection program.

For those landlords who keep up their rental units, an inspection program should not pose a burden, Brant said.

Brant said he is aware the City of Cape Girardeau has a rental inspection program.

Cape Girardeau established a rental-licensing program about five years ago. Rental units were inspected on a complaint basis, said Alex McElroy, director of development services for the City of Cape Girardeau.

In 2016, the Cape Girardeau City Council established a new rental-inspection program to ensure housing meets health and safety codes. It involves random inspections designed to allow the city over time to inspect some units from all of the landlords, McElroy said.

The program has led to safer and healthier rental units, he said. Some of the landlords, who failed to adequately maintain their units and faced inspection issues, have gone out of business, McElroy said.

As for Scott City, Brant said he will meet with the nuisance officer, police chief, city administrator, city prosecutor and city judge to discuss what ordinances can be implemented that would lead property owners and renters not to litter their yards with rusted vehicles and other junk.

Brant said city officials have been going through the city�s current laws to see what changes can be made to eliminate such nuisances.

Removing old cars and trucks is at the top of Brant�s list of junk that needs to be cleaned up.

But he added the No. 1 complaint he hears from residents is �just junk in general.�

Brant said, �I do know we have to do something.�

A lot of the nuisances occur on rental properties, he said.

The mayor said he has called landlords and storage-unit operators and asked them to remove items renters have discarded on their properties.

Brant said he has mentioned the issue to the city council on several occasions.

The goal, he said, is to get the junk cleaned up immediately.

He said Scott City officials aren�t looking at banning recreational vehicles from being parked on the streets as is being considered by the Jackson Board of Aldermen.

Jackson city ordinances allow recreational vehicles to be parked on city streets, but sets a maximum time limit of 72 consecutive hours for any vehicle to be parked in a single spot.

But the measure proposed by Alderman Larry Cunningham would ban such parking to prevent owners from moving recreational vehicles a few feet every so often.

Brant said such on-street parking is �really not a problem for us.�

mbliss@semissourian.com

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Scott City, Mo.