LIMA — A Lima resident involved accused of property maintenance violations said claims made are unfounded and have no basis in truth.
Chad Thompson, of 1441 Cedar St., is a renter at that property. On Monday, Lois Ware addressed Lima City Council about property violations at Thompson’s home. Ware lives in the property next door at 1445 Cedar St. Ware said that about six people were living in a camper parked in the driveway on the property and that the home had been declared as unfit for habitation by city code enforcement officials.
However, Thompson is contending that Ware has been a “neighbor from hell” and has been harassing him since he became associated with the property. He said that Ware’s claims of people living in the camper were false and that only two people were living in the home, him and his girlfriend.
Thompson denied that anyone has been residing in the camper at any time.
“She has been trying everything she can,” Thompson said in a phone interview Tuesday. “She has called code enforcement, the police, the dog warden. She has been a mean old lady that has nothing to do.”
Ware’s claims did strike up investigation into where to report neighborhood problems as Ware said she has went to several sources and nothing has been done yet. A Neighborhood Concerns Committee meeting has been set for Monday in council chambers.
Lima Community Development Director Amy Sackman-Odum said she has met with Ware on three occasions and that all problems with the property have been addressed from the city’s enforcement perspective. After reports of people living on the property, the city posted an “unfit for habitation” notice on March 30 at the house because there was no running water.
Other visits were made April 12, Thursday and Monday. The property was reinspected for someone living there and citations were issued for expired registrations on vehicles. Vehicle registrations have been renewed on the vehicles and the current registration on the camper is good through the end of April.
Thompson also said in the phone interview that water issues on the property have been addressed, but Sackman-Odum reported that water was not turned on at the property as of Tuesday, according to the city Utilities Department.
“I can appreciate Mrs. Ware’s frustration, but we have addressed everything as far as city enforcement goes,” Sackman-Odum said. “We work with people, we rather work for compliance rather than enforcement. It is usually a long process because we don’t just throw people out in the street with nowhere to go.”
Committee Chairman Jesse Lowe II said the Thompsons have been invited to the committee meeting planned for Monday to explain their side of the situation. However, the committee’s main focus will be on clearing up confusion on where issues are reported.
“There have been guidelines set that have created some confusion,” Lowe said. “We want to discuss and clear up what responsibility lies where with property issues, whether it be code enforcement, the county health department, or the police department.”
