Council wrestles with proposals for rental properties

While the Eagle Grove City Council rolled through several agenda items this past Monday, they did spend considerable time again discussing possible code changes regarding rental properties within the city. A sample document of what the City of Estherville recently adopted is being used as a guideline. The amendment would outline minimum standards for both the exterior and interior, including electrical, water, sewer and heating systems. It will include requirements like points of egress (exit) in case of fire, extermination of rodents and maintenance of all smoke and CO2 detectors. It will also outline the inspection procedure and compliance.

The inspection part is what generated the most discussion. “Whether the property has a problem or not, or you (at least) think there’s a problem, they are still obligated to the inspection program,” said city attorney Brett Legvold. While he admitted there will be money invested in enforcement, the fees will help offset that. “It’s what you can’t see, the things inside the house that can’t be checked,” said Mayor Sandy McGrath. She cited a perfect example as being the recent fire on South Commercial. “There were no smoke detectors in that house,” said McGrath.

The City will need to figure out such details as fees, how often to inspect and who will do the inspections. McGrath thinks there would be a possibility that they could share an inspector with Clarion, and would like to check into that idea. City Administrator Mike Boyd stated that it’s fairly common to do it every three years at least, but Councilperson Mike Weland would like to see it done every two years. In the end, the Council decided to continue work on the proposal and also talk to the City of Clarion about how it’s working for them.

Read the full article in the August 18 edition of the Eagle.