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Mayor blames lack of resources for blight in Jackson

6 years 9 months 1 week ago Sunday, June 18 2017 Jun 18, 2017 June 18, 2017 5:10 PM June 18, 2017 in News
Source: WBRZ

JACKSON - Mayor Charles Coleman in the Town of Jackson says a lack of resources and manpower allows people to violate the law.

It all centers around junk that is accumulating in people's yards, and the town has done very little to clean it up.

Neighbors who live near Kathy Circle say they aren't proud of where they live and even called it junky. A miscellaneous shrimp boat, a motor home, junk cars that haven't been moved for years and other miscellaneous items dot properties across town.

Junius Robillard is tired of looking at it.

"It's bad, it's terrible," Robillard said.

Robillard says he began making noise in town about this mess last year. He even paid his own money to have crews who work for his business clean up some of the junk around town. He pleaded with the mayor to enforce the town's junk ordinance that prohibits discarded or abandoned items from hanging around, once the town sends letters to the property owner to clean up.

"They don't enforce them," Robillard said. "They've got so many laws I've proved to them and showed them these abandoned houses. They have ten days to get them cleaned up, and they don't do it."

In January of this year, an attorney sent a property owner at this address a letter urging him to clean up. He gave him ten days to do it. Six months alter, it's still the same.

"It's like the good old boys," Robillard said. "He don't want to rock his boat so they don't do nothing."

So we went in to Town Hall to ask Mayor Charles Coleman about why the town is not doing anything to property owners.

"The guy that's doing all the bi******, it's the right of way, street is clear," Coleman said.

However, Coleman recognized there is a problem in town.

"We have a small group in the maintenance department," Coleman said. "It just was that way when I come in took over as mayor. We did some things but evidently we didn't do enough."

Coleman also acknowledged the ordinances that have been on the town books for years.

We asked whether a lack of manpower allows people to break the law. Coleman responded, "You might say that."

Coleman says until more money comes in, the junk in Jackson won't go anywhere fast.

If and when the Town of Jackson starts to enforce the town's laws, residents who don't abide by them can face liens and fines up to $200 for not cleaning up their properties.

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