SUN PRAIRIE — An abatement was ordered for a residence on Adams Boulevard in Sun Prairie, and the county and Sheriff's Office were involved to clean it up safely before they can put a lien on the property.
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Cascade County Co-Compliance Officer & Planning Department Interim Director Gary Poore said, “Well, we've got an abatement order. That came about because of a…community decay complaint that we received back in 2022.”
Poore explained that the property was covered with “Community K," which is when a property affects the neighbors. Poore said that they have received 32 complaints regarding the property over the past few years.
He noted, “We had scrap metal, we had scrap wood, we had pallets that are in here. Just every kind of trash bags filled with trash and debris.”
Poore says it rarely gets to the point where the county needs to step in to clean it up: “Usually we can we can work with the citizens and get them to to clean up the property before we have to go to these extreme measures.”
But here, that wasn’t the case. Cleaners and the Cascade County Sheriff’s Office were spending resources all week while they cleaned up.
Poore said, “Unfortunately, it comes to the point where you have to, you've got to do it just for the good of the community. “
The court order for the abatement came from Judge Bailey, and specified what items were to be cleaned up.
Cascade County Sheriff Jesse Slaughter said, “We're here to provide a standby service to make sure, that there's no conflict over that and that the, planning department and the contracted workers can do their job. You know, under the court order as they're required to.”
He said that the community feedback has been positive.
Slaughter said, “We've received, tons of great, really good comments and a lot of positive, you know, reinforcement for this property getting cleaned up.”
Once the cleanup is complete, that cost is put on the property, which Poore estimates will be around $30,000.
Poore said, “County Attorneys will have to place a lien against the property.”
The Cascade County Planning Department oversees community decay investigation and enforcement, along with junk vehicle removal and disposal; you can contact the department by clicking here.
Within the City of Great Falls, the Planning & Community Development Department enforces ordinances related to rubbish, junk vehicles, property maintenance, graffiti, and other related issues; click here for more information.
