City officials enlist juvenile offenders needing community service to help one resident clean his yard.
By MAUREEN BYRNE AHERN
Published May 7, 2003
SEMINOLE - The grass was too high and junk filled the yard behind the house on Temple Terrace. A beige van was parked in the front yard, its engine disconnected. All kinds of clutter covered the driveway.
So city officials told Emilio Candia that he was violating city codes and that he had to clean up the mess.
But Seminole's code enforcement officer, building official and community policing officer soon realized the cinder blocks, rotten lumber and other "public nuisance" items weren't going to go away. They put their heads together and came up with a plan: Use juvenile offenders who need to perform community service to clean up the yards.
"There was just no way he could do this on his own," said John Marcum, the city's first full-time code enforcement officer. "No sense in putting a fine on the property. No sense putting a lien on the property. So let's find a solution and take care of it."
For three hours Saturday morning, five local teenagers - three men and two women - mowed grass, raked leaves, pushed wheelbarrows, lifted lumber and carried bricks. They passed items to each other in a line they formed from the 50-foot by 80-foot back yard to a Dumpster in the driveway. They quickly filled the container.
The city loaned the equipment they used, including the sturdy garden gloves the cleanup crew wore. Because the teens were juveniles when they committed their crimes, they were not interviewed for this story.
But their flushed faces and sore bodies said it all: The job was hard work.
"Sweat equity" was how Deputy Adam Sarlo, the city's community policing officer, described their assignment.
"They are kids who committed (minor) crimes in the Seminole area and now they are repaying their debt to society," Sarlo said.
And helping a resident who is unable to do the work himself because of personal reasons, city officials said.
Marcum and Willie Herbert, Seminole's building official, were hired by the city last year. Both men said they came from cities where code enforcement employees were encouraged to give "solutions, not citations" in certain cases.
In February, the city told Candia he had 30 days to remove the items from his property and to cut the grass, which in some places violated Seminole's 10-inch rule. City ordinances prohibit the outdoor accumulation of "public nuisance" items, such as junk cars, old appliances and other things that belong either in storage or the trash. Officials say such environments attract rodents and snakes.
The junk and grass remained, so the case went to the city's special master, who makes rulings on city code enforcement issues and can levy fines. Candia had until May 18 to bring the property into compliance or face a $25-a-day fine.
"I tried to find a way to solve this problem," Herbert said.
Candia said he appreciated the city's help. "On many occasions, I laughingly call myself Fred Sanford," Candia, 52, said Saturday, referring to Sanford and Son, a 1970s TV sitcom about a junk dealer.
But the mess was no laughing matter, he admitted, saying personal issues led to the collection.
"The hauling is done," Marcum said. "Now it's just a matter of keeping it tidy."
Top code violations
1. An inoperative vehicle not stored in an enclosed structure.
2. Junk, trash and debris left in yard.
3. Parking vehicles in unauthorized areas.
4. Commercial vehicles parked overnight in residential areas.
5. Not maintaining or repairing structural elements of buildings.
