Golf Course Owners ‘Guilty’ Again

FARMINGTON — For the second time in less than a year, the owners of the now- closed Valley View Golf Course have been found guilty of letting the grass and vegetation on the property grow too high within the Farmington city limits.

For the most recent case, Joseph Stewart, Jennifer Stewart, Melissa Lipsmeyer and John Kenneth Lipsmeyer were cited June 14 by the city for violating Ordinance 5.9, the city’s ordinance that deals with unsightly or unsanitary conditions on real property.

Attorney James Hornsey on Dec. 8 entered a plea of no contest on behalf of the defendants in the Farmington Division of Washington County District Court.

Judge Graham Nations found all four defendants guilty of violating the ordinance, a misdemeanor. He ordered them to pay $11,241 in restitution to the city of Farmington for its costs in mowing the grass, along with $1,020 in fines, court costs and fees per defendant.

The city ordinance says that brush, grass, vegetation and weeds must be maintained at a height not to exceed six inches. It authorizes the city to go onto the property and cut or remove vegetation that violates the ordinance, if the owner refuses to comply after being provided a five-day notice in writing from city officials.

All costs are charged against the property and constitute a lien against the property, according to the ordinance.

The city notified the defendants in a May 25 letter that their property was not being maintained as required by city ordinance.

The city did not receive a response from its letter and, in June, city employees mowed the grass and vegetation in violation of the ordinance.

Prior to court last week, Hornsey filed a motion to dismiss the misdemeanor charges, claiming that the city should have filed its charges against Valley View, LLC, the company that owns the property, not the individuals.

In responding to Hornsey’s motion to dismiss, Jay Moore, Farmington assistant city attorney, said LLCs are business structures that may protect owners from personal liability on contractual matters.

“It is the position of the Plaintiff that an LLC is not a license for its owners and members to act criminally,” Moore said in his reply to the motion to dismiss. “It is the Plaintiff’s position that the Defendants’ actions herein constitute criminal misconduct.”

Nations denied the motion to dismiss, saying he was prepared for a trial on the misdemeanor citation.

Moore told Nations the city also was ready to move forward with the trial.

“We’re tired of dealing with this,” Moore said. “Nobody is here. Nobody has come to any of the court dates.”

Nations agreed, saying, “You understand, I’m kinda sick of this myself because this happened last time.”

For the first case, the city cited the four defendants on July 8, 2020, for unsightly or unsanitary conditions on real property, and city employees spent 90 hours mowing the high grass and vegetation.

They were found guilty of the misdemeanor Feb. 10 by Nations in district court. Nations ordered the defendants to pay $ 8,449 in restitution to the city of Farmington, along with other fines and fees. The defendants appealed Nation’s decision to Washington County Circuit Court.

Circuit Judge Mark Lindsay ordered the defendants to appear in person for the Nov. 15 pretrial hearing and they failed to appear. Lindsey then dismissed the case with prejudice and ordered that the guilty judgment from district court be reinstated.

Moore last week pointed out the city is out $20,000 in the two cases for its costs in mowing the property.

“It’s really frustrating to the city to deal with this three or four times. I think a message needs to be sent,” Moore said.

He also asked for guidance on making sure the defendants pay the restitution owed for the first offense. To this, Hornsey replied that he would let the defendants know what they owe.

Moore said it’s the city’s position that if the money is not paid immediately, he would ask the judge to issue a warrant for contempt of court.

After the trial, Hornsey said he planned to appeal Nations’ guilty verdict on the second offense based on his motion to dismiss that the city should have filed charges against the LLC, not the individuals.

Farmington Mayor Ernie Penn, who attended the trial, said his concern is that problems with high grass and vegetation will continue at the former golf course and what can be done to prevent it in the future.

“Is this going to be an ongoing thing every year?” Penn said.