We all benefit from nuisance program

The city council and mayor had their first dealings with this year’s nuisance program when a report from the city’s nuisance officer was given at Monday’s council meeting. The council took unanimous action to declare a host of nuisance properties Monday, which sets into motion the process for getting rid of that nuisance.
        It’s human nature with many of us to become angry when that nuisance letter arrives—or maybe unconcerned is a better word—yet others get right to work and clear their properties of the problem.
        I suggest the latter.
        The reason the nuisance program was started was to continue Imperial’s general impression of being a clean, neat community. I hear that often when interviewing people from out of the area—many, many of them say, when asked, that Imperial projects a feeling of pride because of its appearance.
    Imperial police used to enforce the city’s nuisance codes, but in the interest of having someone who doesn’t live here conduct the nuisance reviews, West Central Nebraska Development District in Ogallala was hired for the reviews many years ago. Imperial is just one of many communities for which WCNDD conducts nuisance reviews.
    Once a resident gets a letter noting a nuisance violation, they are asked to clear it before it comes before the council for action—usually 30 days, and 44% of those letter recipients did that before Monday’s meeting. The others were declared nuisances and have been given more time to clear the properties.
    While some property owners believe they have the right to store anything outside on their ground, we all have to remember we have neighbors. Someone I live next to may not like the old refrigerator I have out in my yard, enticing some youngsters to explore. Yard debris and trash piled outside can also invite in rodents that often do not stay in one place. Just like the dog issues several have complained about in Imperial, we have to remember our neighbors.
    What I heard more than once from the WCNDD official who visited with the council Monday is they are willing to work with anyone on clearing the nuisance—with that in mind, WCNDD gave 15 extensions to property owners who contacted them after they received a letter.
    Let’s keep Imperial the clean and welcoming community it’s always been known for.