Iola officials say Johnny Womack has been making a mess.
He calls it making a living.
Womack, who owns several pieces of heavy industrial equipment on the abandoned railroad corridor near U.S. 54 in west Iola, was at Tuesday’s Iola City Commission meeting to appeal a notice to clean the property.
The notice, to remove a number of “environmental code violations,” gives him 10 days to clean the property or face sanctions in Iola Municipal Court.
The notice cites “numerous abandoned trailers, multiple I-beams resting on axles, fifth-wheel and flatbed trailers loaded with steel and lumber,” as well as tires, bricks, telephone poles, vehicles and items the city considers junk.
“It’s big and ugly, but big and ugly shouldn’t be against the law,” Womack said. “I call it making a living.”
Womack conceded the property had some violations, the product of staying in business for more than 26 years.
He said an illness over the summer prevented him from keeping the weeds at bay.
He has since taken steps to cut the weeds, and has removed more than 350 scrap tires to conform with Kansas Department of Health and Environment regulations.
The rest of the cleanup will occur in stages, he said. The only certainty is that he cannot meet the 10-day deadline.
“My biggest problem with cleanup is that I have to generate work in order to continue paying my help,” he said.
Womack contended he uses the rest of the equipment to either move houses, complete other construction-related tasks or refurbish or rebuild other equipment.
The “abandoned” vehicles are nothing of the sort, Womack contended.
Womack accused city commissioners of singling him out.
Mayor Bill Maness countered that the ordinance issues were a result of Womack “not being a good neighbor.”
“The difference between you and other businesses is that the other businesses’ properties are being maintained,” Maness said.
Maness also disputed another of Womack’s contentions — that the city is trying to run him out of town in order to extend the Prairie Spirit Trail from Cofachique Park to Bruner Street.
The city owns a strip of land next to the property, Maness noted, so the city can extend the trail regardless of whether Womack’s equipment is there.
The city directed Code Enforcement Officer Jeff Bauer to show Womack photos the city had taken of the property to clear up any misconceptions about what the city considers code violations. Bauer and his assistant, Tony Godfrey, will report on the pace of cleanup at the commission’s Oct. 26 meeting.
IN AN otherwise brief meeting, commissioners approved, 2-0, a change order worth $816.50 for ongoing renovations at Iola Public Library. The change order includes replacing a portion of wood trim and removing and reinstalling some duct work necessary for repairs to the roof. Commissioner Craig Abbott was absent from the meeting, as was City Administrator Judy Brigham.
The city will once again pursue Kansas Department of Transportation grants in order to continue paying police officers overtime for such things as saturation patrols.
Commissioners also approved the hiring of Kara Godfrey as an administrative assistant and approved annual evaluations and subsequent pay raises ranging from 2 to 3.4 percent for three other employees.
