MARYSVILLE, Wash. — Some neighbors in Marysville say the city isn't doing enough to clean up properties that are a haven for crime, so now they're taking action.
"Eight to 10 complaints per day,” said Deryck McLeod , Marysville’s only code enforcement officer said of his busy schedule.
He admits there is no way he can respond to every complaint, dealing with junk vehicles in yards to tall grass.
"There's no downtime. There's something for me to do all the time,” says McLeod.
One Marysville neighborhood gets that. That's whyRolling Greens Homeowners' Association President Ralph Wilson wants to take matters into his own hands.
"The fines we have wouldn't be a good tip at a restaurant,” explains Wilson.
He says over the 30 years he's lived in Rolling Greens, things have gradually deteriorated.
In order to respond to the drug houses and graffiti, he wants to slap heftier fines from the homeowners' association, not the city, on the owners of the properties causing the most problems.
The city’s process to respond to these properties involves fines as well and even court, but the neighborhood associations say the disciplinary actions don’t come quick enough. Their response is like citizen policing without the possibility of jail, but Wilson thinks money speaks louder than criminal charges in some cases, and neighbors want to help him pinpoint the worst offenders.
"Now that we have greater participation in our association, we're going to take a proactive approach so we're going to do walks,” says Wilson.
McLeod is glad for the help. Nearby Everett has nearly half a dozen code enforcement officers, but at least for now, an active homeowners' association is as good as he's going to get for back up.
“Oh yeah, we could always use more help,” McLeod says.
KIRO
