Thu, 04/15/2021 - 12:00am
By:
Will Sadler | Photojournalist
The City of Olney continues to work diligently to reclaim the unsightly properties around town that have long since given citizens a sore eye.
Olney Police Department’s Chief Dan Birbeck and Police Officer Dustin Hudson (Olney’s Code Enforcement Officer), lead the way to serve the seizure order to the owner of the property. After the paper order was served, Olney city worker Lloyd Newton moved in to begin clearing the property of debris with a heavy-duty piece of construction equipment called a front loader.
Officer Hudson says the City of Olney works with property owners over time before the City Council puts to a vote whether to seize and issue an abatement warrant for the property. Officer Hudson says the property owners have plenty of time and opportunity to correct the violations before things get to the point of seizure. Chief Birbeck said he gave the property owner of this particular property an additional week past the deadline, but still the property owner was unable to bring the property up to code.