Thursday night, a special city council meeting was held in Helper to discuss items on the agenda the council was unable to address during its regular meeting on September 6, 2012. One issue discussed was the starting of a board of health, something a few concerned citizens, along with the mayor, feel is a necessary entity within city limits.
Mayor Armstrong is currently searching for five interested residents to sit on the newly organized board of health. The main concern surrounding the need for this is the public nuisance laws that need to be enforced. The members of the board of health would issue tickets and citations to owner’s of properties not cleaned up; meaning, weeds are taken care of, gutters are clean, and garbage is picked up as well.
Another issue they are facing is how to decide whether the property potentially cited is owned by the home owner or the city. Mayor Armstrong stated that since the city owns the pavement, anything before pavement is the home owner’s responsibility and not the city’s.
It was clarified that city administration does not expect every property perfectly manicured, but making sure things are cleaned up is something everyone should do. “We’re looking for progress, not perfection,” stated Mayor Armstrong.
While Mayor Armstrong has people in mind to be a part of the board, he has not currently received any formal submittals. He will be more actively searching for these members, while also making sure uniform guidelines are set.
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