Lincoln Council Considers Suit On Property Cleanup

LINCOLN — The city wants to join with Washington County in filing a civil lawsuit to clean up private property along Arkansas Highway 45.

Lincoln City Council gave its OK last week to move ahead with a civil lawsuit if the owner, Debbie Cain of 120 S. Arkansas Highway 45, does not clean up the property by Sept. 26.

For months, the property has contained multiple vehicles, tires, garbage and numerous other items. The accumulated items can be seen by those driving on Arkansas 45.

Lincoln Police Department served Cain a cleanup order for the premises on Aug. 24, according to Police Chief Russell Morphis. The police revisited the property

Sept. 11, Morphis said, and at that time issued a citation to Cain for violation of the city cleanup order.

Cain was given a Sept. 26 arraignment date on the citation. The violation is a misdemeanor.

Mayor Rob Hulse said he recently drove by the property and it appears some of the stuff has been removed, but not enough.

“It’s not where it needs to be,” Hulse said. “It’s not going as fast as we want.”

Hulse noted that Lincoln residents are tired of looking at the junk, adding, “I don’t blame them.”

Part of the property is located inside the city limits and part is in the county. City officials say they have found that debris is moved back and forth between the city side and the county side.

City Council members have discussed the property for months. Back in April the council gave Cain 90 days to clean up the property. Otherwise, city officials indicated, the city would clean it up for her and attach a lien to the property to recoup costs.

In August, the City Council amended its municipal code on nuisances within the city limits to provide definitions of what constitutes a nuisance. This ordinance provides definitions for terms that include an inoperable or wrecked motor vehicle, garbage, rubbish and trailer.

Nuisances, as outlined by the ordinance, are noxious weeds that are allowed to grow more than six inches in height, accumulations or storage of rubbish, garbage and other materials, conditions that provide harbourage for rats and other vermin, dilapidated structures, obnoxious odors and stenches, pollution of bodies of water, accumulation of stagnant water, inoperable or abandoned vehicles, and the use of tarps or other sheeting as fences or to enclose buildings.

Hulse gave council members three options in dealing with the property.

He said they could give the property owner more time to clean it up, though he said her track record does not show the work would be done. The city could enter into a civil lawsuit with the county. The city can clean it up themselves.

Steven Parker, city attorney, said he suspects that if the city cleans it up on its own, the property owner would file a lawsuit against the city.

Alderman Doug Hutchens responded, “It’s lawsuit A or lawsuit B. We’ll be going to court either way.”

The disadvantage to filing a civil suit is that it would delay the cleanup, Parker said. The advantage is the court would see evidence the property is a nuisance, then the order to clean up would come from the court, he said.

Hulse said he is tired of “wasting valuable ink” in issuing citations to Cain when she is not complying with the orders.

Tracey Irwin, Lincoln District Court clerk, said Cain was found guilty on Feb. 28 for violation of a cleanup order for the second offense. The judge suspended part of the $10,000 fine if she cleaned up the property by March 20. The property was not cleaned up as ordered.

Irwin said Cain has been issued a summons to appear in Lincoln District Court on Oct. 24 on the amount on the suspended fine. A petition was filed by the prosecuting attorney to revoke the suspended sentence, Irwin said.

Cain could not be reached for comment about her property. District Court did not have an attorney listed for her and no one answered the phone number shown in the case file.