Uniontown city's new codes officer is now on duty

Loretta George/Tribune photo Uniontown Codes Officer Kandyce Cox, standing, gives an update of her activities since being hired in November to the city council Tuesday evening. At left are Maintenance Superintendent Bobby Rich, Council President Jess Ervin, right, and Councilman Josh Hartman, far right.

New Codes Officer Kandyce Cox made her debut Tuesday evening at the Uniontown City Council monthly meeting.

Her job is to notify citizens of ordinance violations and follow-up to make sure violation abatement has been completed, City Clerk Sally Johnson told the Tribune. The council hired Cox in November.

Groundwork

Cox said she has been reading the town's ordinances to familiarize herself with them.

"I'll be trying to match up ordinances where we see violations," Cox said. "It's mostly people who need to clean up their yards. There is only one person who has a weed violation in January."

Most of the ordinances have been in place for many years, according to the city's website.

"I don't think everybody knows that if something happens on their property, they and their insurance are going to pay for it," Cox said.

Cox will be visiting with some property owners in person, in lieu of a letter from the city council.

"The first (municipal) court probably won't take place for a few months yet," Johnson told the Tribune. "We will try working with citizens first."

Unsafe structures

Dilapidated buildings will be addressed by Cox, too.

"I did notice a couple of structural issues," Cox said. "They are worrisome. I think if you put your hand on one and leaned a little bit, it would fall over. I can only go from what I see from the road. It's more safety, not cosmetics."

Mayor Larry Jurgensen asked Cox to give residents plenty of time to deal with unsafe structure issues.

"On the structures, weather is not permitting," Jurgensen said. "It's going to be spring before they could address them."

Cox said she is planning to talk personally with a few people to let them know of grant programs that can help with weatherization, for example.