HomeMy WebLinkAbout3. GRASS MOWINGMemo
From= Lawrence Baker, Director of Community Se
CC= Requested Report By Councilman Gillam
~ 05/20102
Re'. Report on Grass Mowing
We are cu~enlly moving into the height of the grass season. The initial phase for the first
grass cutting is almost complete. Since March 1,2052, Inspectors have performed 2,904
i~ections; As a result of those inspections, staff sent out (2,607) grass mowing letters. As of
May '17,2002, t,058 lots have been assigned to Corffractom for mowing. An additional
clerical staff person was brought in to assist the Environmental Health Secretary i~ preparing
the letters to property owners. Since March 2002, wa have received (477) complaints
regarding high grass throughout ~e City of Port Arthur. The response by the Environmental
Staff and our Contractors have been favorable. We now have a full staff of Inspectors to
handle the woridoad.
Notices for high grass violations can not be issued to pmpe~ owners until the grass is 12'
h~gh, The notification process consist of mailing out certified lettars to owners. Owners am
given (10) ten days from the receip~ of the letter to comply. If however, these letters come
back with no forwarcr~ng address, we have to advertise them in the newspaper as per our
Ordinance. Once this process is complete we can schedule these lots for mowing. By the
time our Co.;,,.c~ors receives a mowing list, the various k)ts have grow~ another (12") twelve
to (24') inct-',~s depending o~ the type of grass. This factor can account for the large volume
of complaints received in the past several merfd~s. Generally, the first cutting is the most
difficult cut. ~ Contractors are assigned numerous mowing lists within their assigned
areas. They have seven days to complete those r~-t We corren~y have (4) four Contractors
cutting grass and Ifley are meeting the requirements of their contract. I have been monitoring
the pmgrass of each Contractor and Inspector. This is to insure wa have no problems with
the quality of work being performed and also to maka sure my staff is doing their job of
identifying violations,
In add*~on to handling notices for grass, my staff also responds to numerous other code
violations, such as junk motor vehicle violations, litter problems and general nuisances
problems which occur throughout the City of Port Arthur daily. The same procedure is
followed on these type of violations. First wa investigate the complaint. Then we notify the
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responsible party of our fino3ngs. We then reinspect the location for compliance. If the owner
fails to comply with our no.cation we determine the appropriate course of action to remedy
the problem.
Complaints regarding high grass will be a constant issue because of our climate, and to the
vast number of vacant abandoned pmparties located in our City. I have directed staff to
prioritize complaints on high grass and to direct Contractors to go to theSe !_nce~_tions as soon
as they can. Our Contmctom have been able to handle If'"',,.-=e prioritY culs wi~in (5) five to (7)
Seven days. We will be woddng to reduce that time even mere. ideally we hope that citizens
would not have to complain but we do receive complaints. What we are attempting to do to
minimize those complaints, is to schedule lots for mowing in close proximity to one another to
maximize the impact and effectiveness of our Contractors. This allows them to cut more lots
in a shorter pa~od of time. This sb-a~egy w~31 be more effective in the coming months since the
bu~ of the grass nolJces have been issued. I can assure you that I and my staff are putting
forth a maximum effort to keep the gross down. We ale working hard to reduce our response
time on ali complaints. If at any time you or the Courtcilmembers have any conceme
regarding complaints on code violations please bring it to my attention. I am exploring other
reissue new no~icee before the end of the grass season. This ~'1t allow Inspectors to
schedule lots that are in violation for cutting immediately. This procedure should help reduce
the number of high grass complaints we get during the beginning of weed season. This will
allow the Inspectors to coordinate the cuffing of lots as soon as they are in violation.
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