Wendy Ridenour and Teresa McKee addressed the Hopkins City Council about nuisance issues they say are plaguing the city. They said there was a problem with motorbikes cruising the streets late at night, loud music, trash blowing onto other peoples’ properties, people putting trash in other peoples’ ditches, people keeping dogs for breeding purposes, and abandoned vehicles. They also said there was a problem with stray cats.
The City of Hopkins has complaint forms that people can fill out if they want the city to investigate an ordinance violation. Filling one out commits one to testifying in court if a case goes that far. Deputy Clerk Mary Smith said that people need to specify exact street locations where alleged violations are occurring. “I live in Pickering and I go straight home after work,” she said. “I don’t know anything about it unless you give an exact location.”
Chris Bird of the city said that if someone parks a junk vehicle on city property, then the city can do something about it. But if it’s on their private property, there is a lot less they can do. “What if someone comes to us and demands we pass an ordinance requiring everyone to smoke pot inside their own homes,” he asked. “I can talk to the city attorney and see what she says.” Mr. Bird said that the right to private property was a key value in the US. “We can’t be like Russia,” he said.
The city can send letters of violation, but the question is what to do if the recipient throws them in the trash. For instance, it took Grant City three decades and multiple attempts before they were finally able to put teeth in their ordinances.
Some cities have ordinances regarding dog ownership. Grant City has an ordinance limiting people to three dogs. All dogs must be kept chained, fenced in, or indoors and cannot be allowed to run loose. Grant City has a mowing ordinance and has recently begun mowing peoples’ lawns that have let grass grow too high and charging owners $250 per mow. Nonpayment means the property being assessed on peoples’ taxes.
Emily Bix asked why her water rates were so high. She said that when she and Cody first moved to Hopkins, it was $90 per month and their most recent bill was $300. She said they had checked and couldn’t find any leaks. Clerk Sue Wagner said that while the city has been raising rates a lot since 2020, “if it’s gone up that much, you probably do have a leak.” The city still has its own water; Chris Bird said that during COVID-19, chemicals were more expensive every time they had to order more.
Mr. Bird said that switching to rural water would mean even more costs to upgrade the infrastructure and that if done wrong, it would kill one of the city’s main revenue sources. He noted that Burlington Junction had taken a big hit after they shut down their water system.
Sheridan had been one of the cheapest water providers in the area and even gained population at one point before repeated water main breaks forced it to pass a bond issue and switch to rural water. Their water rates have more than doubled over the last 20 years.
David Smyser asked what the city was going to do about his neighbor’s fence, which he says is in violation of city ordinances. The city could not take action that night because Allan Thompson had a conflict of interest and could not participate and Bryson Allen was not present, meaning there was no quorum for that issue.
Further discussion was held on truck and trailer parking enforcement. “If you’re going to have to put up a sign every 75 feet to enforce it, that’s what you’ve got to do,” said Chris Bird. He said he would talk to the city attorney.
Missouri Revised Statute 300.545 says, “Whenever by this ordinance or any ordinance of the city any parking time limit is imposed or parking is prohibited on designated streets, it shall be the duty of the city traffic engineer to erect appropriate signs giving notice thereof, and no such regulations shall be effective unless said signs are erected and in place at the time of any alleged offense.”
The council approved hiring a brush cutter to cut brush along city right of way for five hours, and not to exceed $150 per hour.
The council voted to close Third Street on October 31st from 6 pm to 7:30 pm for a Trunk or Treat. The area to be closed will be from the Ford Garage to the north corner.
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