TRASHED: DEBRIS-STREWN LOT IS GIVING THE CITY A FIT

John L. Edwards hopes the city can succeed where he hasn't and force the owner of a lot at 431 N. Middle to clear debris from the site.

Edwards lives adjacent to the lot, where appliances and other trash have been dumped. He's complained to city officials about the mess, but the city has had difficulty tracking down the property's owner, who lives in St. Louis.

Lt. Dale Ratliff of the Cape Girardeau Police Department said the lot at 431 N. Middle has "given us a fit."

Typically, when the city receives a complaint about excessive weeds or trash, officials attempt to get the responsible party whether renters or the property owner to abate the problem.

If no action is taken by the party responsible, they are summoned to court and, if necessary, the city will clean the site and tax bill the property owner for the work.

But Ratliff said that when officials finally contacted the supposed owner of 431 N. Middle, William Bynum of St. Louis, they learned he had sold the lot.

"We had gone through the process of citing him into court and word came back that he had sold the lot," Ratliff said.

"The new owner, Lester Miller Jr., who's also of St. Louis, has been cited and his first court appearance was supposed to be last Tuesday.

"We'll have to wait for the court process to be completed before we can do anything else," he added. "But they're working on it, and we'll try to stick on it."

Edwards said the city last summer cleared weeds from the front of the lot, but didn't do anything about the debris collected in the back section. He said he considers the site a health hazard.

"In the summer time it's really bad for snakes, and in the winter, of course, it always a mess," Edwards said. "I bought two houses next door to it, and I've tried to make it look better, cutting trees and that sort of thing.

"I don't want to make any trouble for the city, it's just that I'm concerned that some kids might get hurt if they're playing in there."

Edwards said he would help the city clear the lot if he knew he wouldn't be liable for doing the work.

"I'm willing to work with them on it," he said. "I just don't want to get over there and do something I'm going to get sued for."

John Treu, Cape Girardeau's municipal prosecuting attorney, said residents with similar problems should consult a private attorney and consider a civil suit to get the debris removed.

Treu said there are city laws that require property owners to keep their land free of excessive weeds, litter and debris.

But, he added, it's often difficult to enforce the laws, particularly on an absentee property owner.

"Normally, I summon them in court and deal with them through an ordinance violation and attempt to make the judge issue an order to get them to clean up the property," Treu said. "The problem with that is I can get a fine issued, but I have no real authority to get them to clean up the property."

The city attorney said adjoining property owners often have more success if they file a civil suit against the property owner who doesn't maintain his lot.

"Normally, a civil suit by adjoining property owners is more effective, because they can get a specific order from the judge in a civil suit that there's a nuisance that must be abated by the property owner," Treu said.

He said that as a last resort, the city's Public Works Department can go in and clear a lot and tax bill the property owner.

"It sounds really great, but it ends up with the city having to sue the property owner," Treu said. "But it ends up costing the city a lot more because if you're suing to have the property foreclosed on, the costs are more than what the property's worth a lot of times.

"It's more economically feasible for the adjoining property owners to file a civil suit."

Although the problem isn't widespread, Treu said there has been an increase in the number of residents who are illegally dumping trash in commercial containers.

He said the increase has been noticed since the city cut trash collection service this summer from twice to once weekly.

"I have had a lot of private citizens dumping their litter into commercial dumpsters, and I have been having to prosecute private citizens for that," Treu said. "I sense that may be because their normal trash is not being picked up as often.

"A lot of times they think there's a trash container there, and it's OK to put their trash in it. But private individuals need to know that those containers are for commercial accounts. That's basically a stealing charge, because they're stealing services.

"The public needs to know that's something they don't want on their record."