Ellington

With the city of Soddy-Daisy asking the owners of Hidden Hills trailer park to clean up their property, some commissioners feel members of the board should take care of land they occupy as well.

Commissioner Geno Shipley said he has received several complaints about the mess outside the building occupied by Commissioner Shane Harmon on Dayton Pike near Charlie’s Restaurant.

“I’m tired of answering phone calls and dealing with it,” said Shipley, adding that the situation puts the city manager and public works director in an awkward position.

He said Mayor Jim Adams has also received complaints from business owners in Soddy-Daisy Industrial Park.

“It’s election time. Welcome to Soddy-Daisy,” said Harmon, adding that he does not occupy the entire parcel or own the land in reference.

Zoning regulations established for the property in 2004 do not allow for outdoor storage or the manufacture of concrete on the premises, said Shipley in a phone conversation.

He made a motion at the Aug. 16 meeting for Harmon to bring the property up to code, which was approved unanimously by a 4-0 vote of commissioners aside from Harmon.

“We have to set ourselves above a little bit of a standard,” said Vice Mayor Janice Cagle.

Shipley said he and other commissioners had attempted to address the situation with Harmon privately prior to his making the motion.

“After no success behind closed doors, I saw no other way to handle it than at an open meeting,” said Shipley.

He said Public Works Director Steve Grant was asked to talk to Harmon about the state of the property, but the city had not issued Harmon a citation.

“Is my lot behind the fence cluttered and dirty and nasty? Do I agree I need to do something?

“I said it was a mess; Ray Charles can see that,” Harmon said.

He was given a 30-day period to clean up the property. Shipley said he hopes no further action from the commission is necessary, but if no progress has been made in cleaning up the property within the time allotted, the next step will be to bring the matter before City Court.