ALBANY, GA --
From Winding Way to Endoline Drive, multiple complaints have been made housing conditions which made Lee County Code Enforcement officers crack down.
"With blight follows crime and in this area here there's been a lot of calls to the sheriff's office for various problems and one of the problems that we have seen down here is the blight so we're here to clean it up today,” said Code Enforcement Officer Jim Wright.
Officers gave written warning to tenants about things like their trashcans being out when it is not pick-up day, junk vehicles, tall grass, and improper disposal of trash and furniture. The papers serve as a deadline to right the wrong.
"If it's something simple that the normal person can fit into 10 days, we give them a 10-day deadline. If it's a bigger project like they've got a couple of junk vehicles they're going to have to get towed off or their yard is saturated in trash, then obviously we'll give them a 30-day deadline to meet," said Officer Ben Roberts.
If deadlines aren't met, they're issued a citation to appear in court where a judge views pictures taken by Code Enforcement to decide on a fine of up to $1,000.
Code Enforcement says handing the warnings out is a way to keep the area clean and nice to look at but it's also a way to keep the streets safer.
"When you have several trashcans out there, they allow for a child to run between them and come out at the street and not been seen by a driver of a vehicle and that's a very serious concern of ours," said Wright.
Officers stress reasons like these will help tenants in the long run.
"Our office is in play to basically keep Lee County a clean, attractive place to live. If you let things such as this behind me go, the neighborhoods are going to go down, people are just going to start trashing it up," said Roberts.
If you have any questions about proper trash disposal or other ordinance specifics, call 229-759-6000 and ask for either Wright or Roberts.
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