The first signs of spring, and the beginnings of summer are found in many forms. For some it’s the first robin on the feeder, others may look to the budding of plants.

Here at the environmental enforcement arm of the health department, it’s the sudden influx of complaints regarding trash, high grass and other complaints.

Addressing the complaints is a process involving several steps, with the first step being the actual receipt of the complaint.

These are normally received via the telephone, but some prefer to come into the office and make the complaint in person.

Some people are hesitant to call, for fear of retaliation, by the person they are complaining about. For that reason we do not require that the complainants leave their names or phone numbers.

Once the complaint is made, it is checked out within 24-48 hours. This involves going to the location to verify the complaint. Sometimes the violations are not enforceable by the health department, and are passed on to the appropriate city department.

If it is a valid health department complaint, pictures are taken of the area, and an active folder is created.

A registered letter is sent to the owner of the property. The letter addresses the nature of the violation, and specifies a time frame for the problem to be rectified.

Generally seven days from the receipt of the registered letter. Extensions of the time limit can be given, providing the owner contacts this office and is making a good faith effort to address the violation.

Once we receive the delivery confirmation for the letter, the property is re-inspected. If the violation has been addressed, the folder is closed.

If the problem still exists, the folder is placed in the clean up file and will be cleaned by health department personnel, in the order it was received. The charges for this are assessed directly onto the property taxes.

Several factors determine how fast the properties are cleaned. It can vary from a couple of weeks to over a month, depending on how fast the letter is delivered, and how many are in front of it.

The actual cleanup of the properties can take anywhere from a couple hours, to mow the grass, to several days of trash removal.

There have been some properties, which have required the assistance of the Street Department with a front end loader and dump trucks.

In 2010, between April and October, more than 200 complaints were investigated, of which, 165 were valid complaints requiring action by the health department.

Fred Schaefer is the Environmental Enforcement Officer for the Ironton Health Department. Schaefer can be reached at (740) 532-2172.