By Kevin Sabo For the Advance
Residents of the Town of Castor need to do more to upkeep the town, it was learned at the last council meeting on May 14.
Due to an increase in complaints of properties in violation of the community standards bylaw, council reviewed the bylaw and opted to double the fines for violations. This means that fines now begin at $200 for the initial offence and will double on each subsequent offence.
Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Sandi Jackson indicated that 19 violation tags were issued in 2017 for properties not following the bylaw. Violation tags can be issued to properties for a range of offences, ranging from an accumulation of garbage, grass taller than 15 centimetres, damaged/abandoned vehicles on properties, failure to remove snow from the sidewalk within 48 hours of a snowfall and others.
The 19 tags issued in 2017 were a mix of excessive garbage on properties, and unmaintained yards. The town has a current staff member assigned to bylaw enforcement this summer and the expectation is that more violation tags will be issued this year than last.
The town is aware that some issue properties have residents who are unable to maintain the property themselves, nor have the resources to make sure it gets done, so options are currently being evaluated to help those homeowners get their properties up to code.