Monthly comments from New Hampton Mayor Deb Larsen

Our next compost pick up is Nov. 4 and compost and brush is Nov. 18. Remember not to rake leaves into the street.Congratulations to Courtney and Trent Lechtenberg on the birth of their child. Courtney is out of the office for a bit and it has been great to see other city employees chip in and help out. Some of you have even seen me at the front desk when you are making your payment or answering the phone calls. Suellen and Karen are doing a great job with everything that has to get done and it has been a great learning experience.Congrats to the Tribe Trail Team for their hard work in getting us the $75,000 REAP Grant!! Great Job Rick and Megan!! Every bit helps!!!Oct. 24 was our department head meeting with Piper Jaffray where we put our Capital Improvement Plan for the City into one spreadsheet. We are able to see every department needs are and then move to prioritize the critical and the long term expenses and then how to finance them. The council has approved a debt policy so when we have the information from this meeting, our next step is to present to the council at a work session Nov. 7.A number of communications I have had since taking office have been related to nuisance laws so I wanted to touch base on what they consist of. Chapter 657 of the Iowa Code says any nuisances are “whatever is injurious to health, indecent, unreasonably offensive to the senses, or an obstruction to the free use of property, so as to interfere unreasonably with the comfortable enjoyment of life or property.”Section 657.2 states that any building or other place that becomes injurious and dangerous to the health or property of individuals or the public, houses of “ill fame,” dense growth of weeds or other vegetation that creates a health, safety, or fire hazard.Here are some of the things included:1. Offensive smells injurious and dangerous to the health, comfort of property of individuals or the public.2. Abandoned Appliances-Abandoning or otherwise leaving unattended any refrigerator, ice box, or similar container with doors that may become locked, outside of buildings and accessible to children or allowing any such item to remain outside of buildings on premises in the persons possession or control abandoned or unattended and so accessible to children.4. Storing of Flammable Junk -The depositing or storing of flammable junk, such as old rags, rope, cordage, rubber, bones and paper by dealers and such articles with the fire limits of the city unless it be in a building of fireproof construction.5. Weeds, grass, uncultivated vegetation-All grass, weeds, and other uncultivated vegetation in excess of the height allowed in the city code which is 8 inches.6. Houses of Ill Fame-Kept for the purpose of prostitution and lewdness, gambling houses, places of resorted to by persons participating in criminal gang activity, places resorted to by persons using controlled substances in violation of law or houses where drunkenness, quarreling, fighting, or breaches of the peace are carried on or permitted to the disturbance of others.7. Abandoned and Junk vehicles and unsightly materials - Abandoned vehicle shall mean: one that has been left unattended on public property for more than 48 hours and lacks current registration plates, or is inoperable, or has remained illegally on public property for more than 72 hours, or has been unlawfully parked on private property or been place on private property without consent of the owner or person in control of the property for more than 24 hours, or any vehicle parked on a street that a member of the Police Department determines is creating a hazard to other vehicle traffic.Unsightly materials; Shall include putrescible animal and vegetable materials resulting from the handling preparation, cooking and consumption of food, and solid materials including ashes, street cleanings, dead animals, abandoned automobile and solid market and industrial materials, combustible and noncombustible materials, including paper, metal, wood, glass, cloth, rubber, and plastic.Unsightly material shall be maintained so that no unsightly materials located on the premises can be seen from any public street or alley or any other residential premises in the city. The owner or occupant of any premises zoned commercial or industrial may conceal the presence of unsightly materials by erection of a fence.No person wants to live next door to someone who doesn’t wish to keep up their property, and we want our town to look pleasant as well. Think about chapter 657 if you have a complaint.Also if you walk your pets, please be courteous to others and carry a bag with you and pick up your pet’s poop. mayorlarsen@windstream.net If you wish to email me.Thank you.