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The ADVANCE, June 28, 2023/Page 2A
Alamo’s Code Enforcement Officer
Introduced at Town Hall Meeting
Photo by Deborah Clark
NEW CODE ENFORCER — Lekitte Holt-Robinson, a na
tionally-certified professional who is as an inspector in
the Georgia Secretary of State's Office, Investigative Di
vision, will begin enforcing fhe City of Alamo's property
maintenance ordinance on July 1. She outlined her role
at a town hall meeting in Alamo on June 20.
By Deborah Clark
Regional Editor
dclarkadvance@gmail. com
The City of Alamo’s
new code enforcement of
ficer was introduced to the
community during a town
hall meeting on Tuesday
June 20, at the Wheeler
County multipurpose cen
ter.
Lekitte Holt-Robin
son, a nationally-certified
professional who is an
inspector in the Georgia
Secretary of State’s Office,
Investigative Division, will
begin enforcing the City’s
property maintenance or
dinance as a private con
tractor on July 1.
The town hall session
was held by the Alamo City
Council to acquaint the
public with Holt-Robin-
son’s role as a code enforcer
and to provide an overview
of the code enforcement
process. The City’s proper
ty maintenance ordinance,
adopted in 2021, is posted
on the City of Alamo web
site.
“I have been working
in code enforcement for
about 15 years. I am pas
sionate about what I do and
if I see something wrong, I
will write a violation,” Holt-
Robinson said as she out
lined her role. She added
that she also wants to be a
resource for the commu
nity. “I am available to an
swer questions. I am here
for you.” Holt-Robinson
said she works full-time for
the state enforcing building
codes, and she has plan
ning and zoning experience
which could be an asset for
the community. She will be
paid on an hourly basis.
She will be visiting the
community on a regular
basis from her state office
in Atlanta, and her first task
will be orienting herself to
the community and assess
ing its needs and issues.
She will survey the city to
target problems and set pri
orities.
Holt-Robinson out
lined the process. “If I see
a violation, I will make a
photo with a notation of
the date and time, do re
search to determine the
property owner, and send
a written notice about the
violation to the owner with
a timeframe for correcting
the problem.” She allowed
that in some cases, the vio
lation may be the responsi
bility of the tenant to cor
rect. In cases where the
tenant or owner does not
respond, a fine may be im
posed, and in some cases,
the matter may be referred
to court for resolution.
Alamo City Manager
Jeff Floyd shared some of
the violations specified in
the city’s property mainte
nance ordinance: accumu
lation of dirt and debris;
clothes hanging in the
front yard; the accumula
tion of boxes, containers,
fire wood, junk trash, recy
clable materials, and build
ing materials; overgrown
vegetation and fallen trees;
graffiti; inoperable ve
hicles; and the presence of
dilapidated, unoccupied
structures. “We are also
considering potential water
conservation and water
shed issues covered by the
Environmental Protection
Division. All storm water
goes into the watershed,
and refuse can contaminate
this watershed, resulting in
noncompliance and a fine
from EPD,” he said.
Holt-Robinson added
to Floyd’s comments. “I
will be looking at resi
dences where the grass is
too high, or if there are too
many vehicles in a yard.
Vehicles need to have a
tag and insurance and be
in running condition.” She
said she will be looking at
the exterior condition of
homes and whether their
status is a detriment to the
community. “I cannot go
onto property without per
mission. I will be inspect
ing from the road or the
right of way, but if I see a
violation, I will write it up.”
She said some serious vio
lations, such as those con
cerning plumbing/water,
or electrical/fire hazards
will require more imme
diate action and shorter
deadlines.
She will not be han
dling building codes and
licenses initially, but this
may be one of her future
tasks. The City has ordi
nances regarding animal
control and zoning to ad
dress these issues. She said
in cases where proper
ties are in foreclosure, the
company which owns the
structure will be held re
sponsible for correcting or
dinance violations, and the
property cannot be sold
until the violations are ad
dressed.
“I can’t condemn
property, but I can make
a referral to the proper au
thorities. I can write up vio
lations and go from there,”
Holt-Robinson said. But
if a building is repairable,
the matter can be negoti
ated. “The property has to
be made livable. It can be
boarded up and a time limit
set for improvements,” she
said.
Floyd emphasized,
“We are trying to beautify
the city with current proj
ects. It’s hard on someone
to have a nice home and
see issues in the commu
nity that decrease their
home’s value. Our inten
tions with bringing in the
code enforcer are to make
the best of our commu
nity, to attract businesses
and residents, to make our
community grow.”
Alamo Mayor Pam Lee
commented, “As mayor,
I want to make sure our
community is safe, beauti
ful, and inviting. This is a
very positive move,” she
said of the new code en
forcer. Having someone
from outside of the com
munity come in and tackle
issues makes the process
more objective, Lee said.
Regular Meeting
The City Council met
at 6 p.m., June 20, for its
regular June session and
among matters taken up
was deciding whether a
special election will be held
to replace Councilman
Harry Lewis, whose res
ignation was accepted by
the Council at its last ses
sion. To avoid the expense
of holding a special elec
tion, the Council voted to
include the special election
in the next regular election
on November 7.
The Council also voted
to change the City Hall
hours to 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.,
closing for lunch from
noon until 12:30 p.m.,
starting July 1.
Floyd reported that
work commenced June 1
on the remodeling of a city-
owned property on Main
Street/U.S. Highway 280
to accommodate the new
City Hall. He said the work
is about 40% complete,
and the building should
be ready for occupancy in
about 12 weeks.
2 MDO KH soiution ’ page 1 iA
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MHMH DONATES TO GIRLS SUMMER CAMP - Memorial Health Meadows Hospital
(MHMH) recently presented a check for $2,500 to Susanna Haynes Enterprises to help
fund the annual Girls Summer Camp at Southeastern Technical College, which was
held on June 15-17. L to R: Chief Financial Officer Jared Kirby, Chief Medical Officer
Dr. Karen McColl, Vice President of Human Resources Hillary Thompson, Chief Nursing
Officer Jeffrey Harden, Susanna Haynes, Vice President of Operations Mike Hagan.
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“For people who
want separate holi
days, you would not
have Juneteenth
which was in June
1865 if you didn't
have July 4, 1776, and
you may not have
had July 4, 1776, if you
didn't have the year
1215 when Magna
Carta was come out."
“The house on the
corner of Wilson and
Lanier in Lyons is filthy
and complaints have
been made to city
hall and nothing has
been done. Also there
are 2 pit bulls that run
loose. We have
grandchildren and
are very concerned
about this situation."
“Regarding the re
sponses about Mont
gomery County, peo
ple remember when
we vote. We obviously
don't have qualified
people who can pull
a printout right. They
keep buying and buy
ing. Just remember
when we vote again,
we need to vote ev
ery one of our elected
officials out."
“I was wondering
why we haven’t heard
anything about
Toombs County put
ting cat litter in the
schools for the stu
dents who identify as
furries."
“In the old days,
gays and transvestites
were a rare breed.
Now the streets are
overflowing with
them, and you won
der where they all
come from. After
closer scrutiny, I have
noticed that these
are not real gays or
transvestites but a
bunch of lonely
women and shock
jocks begging for at
tention. Their lives are
so lonely that they
have to dress like
clowns and scream
and yell for attention."
“This past Friday,
my van got stuck on
the road around Mc
Donald's. Some
young men of 2 differ
ent races helped me
get my van unstuck. I
told them I loved what
they did to help this
old man and I would
pray for them. Later I
thought, they were
good Samaritans."
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