By Tanna Friday
Editor
TRUSSVILLE — Tonight the Council held a public hearing for a resolution concerning the conditions of a property located at 103 Post Oak Drive in Trussville.
The Council chose to take action on the property after returning from an executive session regarding the public nuisance.
According to residents and the Council, the Dupree property housed over 150 felines since 2015.
To date, both property owners were removed from their house due to conditions of the property which had unlivable conditions.
The Council invited public comments from concerned neighbors as well as the property owner, Wayne Dupree.
Related article: Trussville home declared uninhabitable, over 100 cats found inside
Fellow neighbor, Donald Mcgriff, addressed the Council on explaining a time line of events that had occurred over the last year.
“In December, I sent out 19 letters to homeowners in this area,” said Mcgriff. To try to find exactly what the odor was and where it was coming from.”
Mcgriff explained that after the much investigation, they discovered that the odor was coming from the Dupree’s property.
Dupree, along with his attorney, asked the Council to withhold any adverse action at this time until the Duprees could work through the process.
“My wife and I have wanted to clean our house,” said Dupree.
“We have been prohibited from even going back to our house. We have relatives who can help us and want to be able to access the property and clean it if we can.”
Dupree claims that housing the 140 plus felines was because his wife believed that the Birmingham Humane Society would euthanize the animals.
Although Dupree had agreed to assist with cleaning his property, the Council agreed to take action declaring the property a public nuisance.
Council President, Alan Taylor, read the resolution aloud to a tightly filled chamber of concerned citizens.
“The City of Trussville finds the property “unhealthy, unsanitary and/or unsafe condition and/or hazardous to safety or health by reason of inadequate maintenance, dilapidation, and/or accumulation of rubbish and other debris,” said Taylor.
“The City Council finds that the above described conditions at 103 Post Oak Drive constitutes a public nuisance which threatens public health, safety and welfare.”
The resolution continues to state that both Mayor and city attorneys are authorized to initiate a civil action in the Circuit Court of Jefferson County against the owners of the property and to cause public nuisance with the purpose of recovering the cost and expenses.
In other matters, the Council also approved:
• Ordinance to establish car tag sales and fees; • Resolution to reduce the number of Redevelopment Authority members to seven;
• Proclamations for CityFest; the Magnolia Elementary Shamrock 5k and Family Run, the No Longer 5k Run, the School Foundation Crawfish Bowl in April; the Mayor’s Bike Ride in May; Freedom Festival in July; and the National Nigh Out in October.
The Council will meet on Tuesday, March 20 at 5:00 p.m. for a rescheduled workshop and regular Council meeting.