Portage resident Bruno Mendez complained Tuesday not about what a code violation cited him for but the way it was worded.
“I feel like I’m being threatened to be sued by the city,” Mendez told the Portage City Council. He’s fine with being fined, but threatening litigation is too heavy-handed for the first notice, he said.
“You’re not the first person to have this concern,” Mayor Austin Bonta told him. Usually, when people receive a letter from code enforcement, it’s a warning.
“It’s a form letter, so the wording is primarily the same for all violations,” Director of Planning and Development Tom Cherry said.
“Certainly, there may be a friendlier way to word code enforcement warn letters,” Bonta said.
Mendez’s violation was having asphalt at the end of the driveway where the curb stands, Cherry said.
Threatening to sue makes sense for a second offense, Mendez said, but not the first warning of a violation.
Mendez has a meeting set up with the city for this week. Bonta asked him to bring some samples of kinder, gentler form letters the city could consider adapting.
In other business:
•Councilman Ferdinand Alvarez said he has heard complaints about a BB gun fired into a neighbor’s yard while the woman was outside in her yard, “so it’s quite a hazard.” Alvarez asked what ordinances might apply.
City Attorney Dan Bartnicki said he has been working with the police department on a revised ordinance dealing with firearms, including BB guns and other firearms, along with bows and arrows.
•Clerk-Treasurer Liz Modesto said the council should expect a string of ordinances dealing with tightening internal controls over the city’s finances.
•Police Chief Michael Candiano told the council he has seen privacy complaints online about the use of Flock cameras.
Two homicide cases in Portage went to trial this month. “Having those cameras was an important part of those trials,” he said, proving someone was in the area when they said they weren’t.
“Police are talking about murders, shootings and things like that, abductions, kidnappings solved because of Flock,” Candiano said.
•Fire Chief Chris Crail complimented three firefighters who responded to a call April 16 to help an elderly patient. While there, they decided the front porch wasn’t very stable.
On their own, the three firefighters returned to investigate the situation. “It turns out that none of the rafters on the porch were connected,” Crail said, so they bought truss hangers and installed them, using their own money to make the porch safe.
The council gave them a standing ovation in gratitude.
Doug Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
