A citation was written to the Jenkins County Board of Education on section 3-6-2 for the old primary school property. The Jenkins County School Superintendent has notified the city by letter of steps being taken by the BOE to clean up the property. The Code Enforcement Department of the city will closely monitor the progress made of this property before further action is taken. Property owners within the city limits of Millen must clean up their premises or face the consequences. The City of Millen has begun issuing citations to property owners who have unsightly property, junk and old vehicles located on properties and dilapidated housing.

Lamar Faircloth, city manager, said the city is very serious about the matter. On average, two to three citations are being written daily, he said.

The following procedures are followed by the city for code enforcement. Upon receiving a complaint, a code enforcement officer visits the property, takes photos and builds a case file. The owner of the property is then notified of the complaint and is given an opportunity to clean up the property. If the owner complies, the code enforcement officer revisits the prop- erty, takes more photos and closes the case file.

The owner of this property received a citation on section 3-6-2 for “maintenance of nuisance prohibited.” The yard was subsequently cleaned up, but the house still needs to be repaired for occupancy or the owner will receive a summons to appear in City Municipal Court. If, however, the owner refuses to address the issue, a hearing is scheduled between the property owner and city code enforcement officers in an attempt to resolve the matter. If the case ends up going to Municipal Court, the property owner could be fined up to $1,000.

“The judge could also rule that city employees clean up the property with a bill for their work being sent to the owner. If the owner refuses to pay the bill, we will attach it to their property taxes. If the owner still refuses to pay, we can sell the property at public auction, and we will,” said Faircloth.

The City of Millen has begun cracking down on code violations, issuing the owner of this property a citation on section 10-6-3 for “storing, parking, or leaving certain motor vehicles.” The vehicles were removed, and the case was closed (Photos contributed) While the city is taking a tough stand on code enforcement, officials say they are also willing to work with property owners, but some type of improvement must be seen.