Resident accuses city of omitted minutes and uneven enforcement at 512 South Church

During both public-comment periods at the meeting, resident Kent Parish asked the council to correct and expand the minutes of the June 1 meeting and raised several enforcement concerns tied to a nuisance property at 512 South Church.

Parish thanked Mayor Mry and city crews for recent cleanup work but said the June 1 minutes omitted that the city plans to retain the North Chestnut Street property for future property taxes. He told the council that the owner of 512 South Church was "297 days past the cleanup deadline" in a demand letter attributed in the minutes to Michael Zering, and he said that under the city's ordinance each day is a separate $100 fine, which he calculated as a total of $29,700.

Parish also said the city waived a $973 water-and-sewer bill for the owner and alleged that roughly 145,600 gallons of water spilled on the property; he said he had asked the police chief informally whether violations had been issued but had not received a response and that a FOIA request made for that information had not been answered within five days.

Mayor Mry and city staff did not dispute Parish's request to have his comments recorded; the mayor asked him to limit remarks within the time allotment and invited him to discuss details with council members after the meeting. The police chief was asked to check on enforcement status and respond to Parish's inquiry.

The council did not take formal enforcement action during the meeting; Parish asked that his remarks and concerns be included in the record for the next set of minutes.