Enforcement officer discussed by city

Grand Coulee may move to aggressively enforce its own nuisance laws to clean up the city and add a part-time employee to do so.

A woman who lives on Burdin Boulevard, finally got her message about trash in her Grand Coulee neighborhood across to the city council at its meeting June 2.

Becky Billups found a friend in Mayor Pro-tem Paul Townsend, who will be the city’s next mayor, and in a council poised to act on her complaints.

The council listened again to Billups Tuesday night, periodically breaking up as she told how her neighborhood was going south rapidly. Billups has been at most council meetings this past year to complain to the council, but with no apparent action.

This time she took the ordinance approach.

“Why do you have ordinances when you have no intention of enforcing them?” she asked. “I can’t get my head around it.”

Her plea didn’t fall on deaf ears this time.

After Billups unloaded, Councilmember Tom Poplawsky stated, “I don’t want to wait any longer on this.”

That started the ball rolling, and the council agreed to hire an enforcement officer.

City Clerk Carol Boyce said that Gary Haven, who is Electric City’s enforcement officer, puts in an average of 17 hours a month, and might be available to work for Grand Coulee, too.

It was stated that Burdin Boulevard and the surrounding area isn’t the only place in the city where ordinances aren’t being followed.