Dewey City Manager Kevin Trease gave a code enforcement update on Monday night during a Dewey City Council meeting.

In that meeting, Trease addressed the invasion of campers, trailers, boats and junked vehicles in the City of Dewey. He said this has become a big problem for their Code Enforcement staff. He said the junk vehicle ordinance is so outdated that they need to revamp it.

The current ordinance states that the Dewey Police Chief has to get involved when there is a junked vehicle problem.

City Manager Trease said Code Enforcement should handle this situation, not the police chief. He said all issues will be addressed continuously until they are resolved. If you have a boat, trailer, camper or junked vehicle that is non-compliant, the City of Dewey will come knocking on your door.

Trease said they have language in their ordinances that help address these issues, but added that they need to add language to address issues that cannot be addressed by the city. He gave some example at the Council meeting on Monday night that are pictured below.

In one case, a trailer is hooked up to power, but it is 5-feet from the home. This is said to be a fire hazard. Another trailer is hooked up to sewage. Campers that are in disrepair and that are not tagged are scattered throughout. To some of the public in the meeting, the untagged trailers were scary to them.

Commercial trailers in residential areas have become a problem. Trease said other communities require that these types of trailers need to be stored in a commercially zoned area. He said this will be another thing they will need to address when looking at amendments to their trailer ordinance.

As for the junked vehicle ordinance, Trease said he will look at other communities and see how they handle this situation. He said he will bring a proposed ordinance to the Dewey City Council in a future meeting for them to consider.

(Photo courtesy: Dewey City Manager Kevin Trease)