To the editor:

Following the City Commission decision requiring inspection of all rentals, I called City Hall to find out “Who may report a visible property maintenance code violation to the city?”

A nice lady in the city clerk’s office said, “Anyone. You needn’t be a neighbor to file a complaint.” Hmm…

Interpreted correctly, that means ANYONE: concerned citizen, neighbor, city employee, code enforcement officer making daily rounds — even a city commissioner! Hmm…

On a whim, I drove Tennessee, Kentucky and Ohio from Sixth to 19th and found at least 40 properties that have property maintenance code violations in less than two hours. The offenses I saw included peeling paint, missing screens, trash and upholstered furniture on porches, discarded bed springs and mattress in yards, failing foundations and brick walls and an old abandoned travel trailer surrounded by brush. (It has obviously been there a while!)

When exterior problems are so evident, interior conditions are usually not so good either! The code inspector would be justified in inspecting such properties to insure the life, health and safety of occupants.

It is everyone’s responsibility to protect the lives, health and safety of our neighbors — not just the landlords of this fair city.

What wonderful community improvements might occur if every citizen — city employee or code enforcement officer, even a city commissioner concerned with the life, health and safety of our residents — took the time to report these visible violations that they drive by every day and request that the city have owners correct them!