Central Avenue mobile home impounded in place
Grant City Council voted 3-1 to impound in place a mobile home located at 740 Central Ave., at their meeting on Tuesday, April 24.
CJ Poltack, the executive director of West Central Nebraska Development District, attended the meeting to present an update on the abatement that went into effect at the Bullock property on Central Avenue in October 2017. The council declared the property a nuisance in July 2017.
Poltack said the owners have had several months and the property has not been cleaned up. She showed the council photos of the property that had been taken on April 19.
She said the three issues discussed in the past were vehicles that appeared inoperable with flat tires, fencing down the alley and the mobile home.
Poltack said it was her understanding from looking at the file that those issues were to be taken care of by April. The owners had agreed to install a fence, and address the inoperable vehicles by removing or repairing them as necessary.
She said it was her recommendation to impound in place the mobile home
She explained that three years ago, the legislature passed a law for city councils to impound in place mobile homes by a motion, meaning they don’t have to move the mobile home to impound it.
“It’s senseless for us to try and tow a mobile home, put it in a storage yard and let it sit for 30 days,” Poltack said.
After the mobile home is impounded in place, a vehicle identification number is obtained, the owner receives notification and they have 30 days to remove it.
They then receive a five-day notice upon which time the title of the mobile home will be vested to the City of Grant.
Councilman Matt Greenwood asked if the impound in place was in the city’s code currently. Poltack said it’s a state statute. City Attorney Phil Pierce said it was not specifically in the city’s code, but would be covered under the abatement.
After more discussion, Greenwood said he wanted to make sure everything was done above board and accordingly.
Poltack began listing the communities that had utilized the impound in place, starting with Imperial and Cambridge.
“I don’t care about Imperial or Cambridge. I care about Grant,” interrupted Greenwood. “I don’t like this ordinance. Period. This ordinance is too vague. I don’t like this ordinance, but if this is what you guys are going to do, you’re going to do it without me.”
Council member Andrea Bruggeman again asked Attorney Pierce if they were covered through their contract with WCNDD in handling the nuisance and abatement properties.
“Certainly, because the ordinance allows for abatement of a nuisance, and this is a procedure that you can use which follows state statute,” Pierce said.
The council voted 3-1 to impound in place the mobile home located at 740 Central Ave., with Greenwood voting no.
Highway project
City Superintendent Dana Harris said she wanted to clear up some miscommunication pertaining to the state doing a highway project in Grant this summer.
The project will be starting just north of Grant to the Keith County line, adding shoulders to Highway 61.