News : Hansen, City Building Inspector/Code Enforcement Officer/Floodplain Manager

Blake Hansen Vinton's City Building Inspector/Code Enforcement Officer/Floodplain Manager

Speaking to the Vinton Kiwanis Club this week, Blake Hansen shared first a bit about himself. He is not a stranger to Vinton. Growing up here the son of Jeff and Jennifer, and grandson of Gilbert and Rose, and Roger and Dorothy Albert, his family line goes deep into Vinton. Hansen moved back 3 years ago and looks forward to raising his family here.

A man who wears three hats for his job, Hansen is Vinton's first full-time Building Inspector/Code Enforcement Officer/Floodplain Manager. He is also the only full-time city building inspector in the county. His position is somewhat of a novel idea and he is one of the few, if not the only one, that holds multiple positions. It is believed that he's the first in the state to hold all of these titles as one job description. Other towns will be observing to see how it works in Vinton and will be considering doing the same in their towns.

Hansen said that he wanted to thank all of the citizens who have worked with him in the city as we now begin to follow the ordinances a bit better. The residents have done an excellent job.

As far as the Building Inspector position goes, he is in charge of knowing who's doing what, how things are being and who's doing them. He's the one that makes sure that homes, garages or other structures are built correctly.

When it comes to code enforcement his job is basically enforcing all of the ordinances that in the past had not been dealt with. Right now there will be a lot of residents that might not know that they are in violation of any ordinances until Hansen points out the violation. He often hears, "That's the way we've always done it," he said, "because that's probably true." However, his position will help to bring residents into compliance with the local ordinances.

Hansen's office is located in City Hall. Any nuisances and complaints are now handled by Hansen. He said that the thing that most people complain the most about is grass. These complaints are verified and if true it will result in a letter and 7 days to take care of it or it will cost $100 dollars for the city to take care of it. Second, on the complaint list is junk vehicles stating that he's had to deal with 40 of those so far, since April. After that, he said general upkeep of property would be next on the list of complaints that he gets. A lot of what Hansen does is proactive he said rather than waiting for someone to complain.

As Building Inspector, he inspects plumbing, heating and cooling but electrical inspections need to be done by someone else and verification is shown to him. With a background in construction over a span of 10 years his experience has helped him with the building inspection aspect.

As far as the Code Enforcement part of his job he said he had no idea coming into this job, just how much time that he would have to spend reading the Iowa Code. He said with all of the storms, flooding and the aftereffects of all of that, a lot of things have been let go.

His job is a division of the Vinton Police Department so he will be going through the reserve program. His position does not include arresting authority, but when he has had to conduct mandatory property cleanup where the resident has not complied with the order to do so, the city will come in and are accompanied by the Vinton Police Department just to make sure that everyone is calm and that there aren't any problems.

As a Building Inspector, he does have the authority to request an administrative search warrant for properties through the courts and gain access to the properties, he said, and with these, an officer will accompany him.

Hansen's responsibility is anything within the city limits. The process includes first seeing a violation and then Hansen will take a photo of the violation, and include it with a nuisance abatement letter that lists the specific ordinance violation, and that is sent to the property owner and the expected time for which it should be taken care of. The letter also includes information on how to appeal the letter to the city council. The letter is then delivered face to face or by certified mail, it's never just left at the door.

The nuisance property generally has one week to be abated (resolved) or you can submit a letter to the city clerk to appeal the violation and you'll then be added to the city council agenda. You would then be given time to speak to the council and argue your case about why it's either not a nuisance or explain why you need more time to take care of the issue.

To date, Hansen said that he's served some 80 violations and only 3 have wanted to appeal to the council. If you don't show up, or don't take care of your issue, the city steps in and will take care of the issue and will either bill you or place a levy for the cost against your property.

A question was asked about the sidewalk requirements for clearing them in the winter. Hansen explained that you have 24 hours after it stops snowing to clear your walks. This lead to a question about replacing sidewalks. Hansen explained that if you do replace your complete walk, there is a $750 grant program through the city.

Vinton's Ordinances can be found here if you have questions.