City takes over cleanup

A commercial property on SR-155, near Western Avenue, was cleared by the city last week because of a nuisance problem.

Jeff’s Towing of Coulee City took a pickup truck, a large truck with a boom on it, a boat and a storage shed off the property at 20 Coulee Boulevard East.

City workers acted on a court order in support of the city’s nuisance ordinance and an officer from the Grand Coulee Police Department was requested to stand by. After the large items were removed from the lot, city workers cleaned up the business property.

The city had asked owner of the property, Gary French, to clean up the property on a number of occasions, according to city enforcement officer Gary Haven.

Property owners who fail to clean up their properties when asked can be fined $250 a day up to $5,000, Haven stated.

The city will pay the cost of towing the vehicles and cleaning the lot, and will place a lien on the property for that amount, officials said. When the property is sold, the owner will have to pay the amount of the lien to the city.

The cleanup effort is part of the city’s plan to improve the looks of the city by getting owners to clean up their properties.