Slow record-keeping hampers mowing efforts

Approximately two weeks ago, after a drive-by examination of municipal residential lots, letters of violation of the town’s junk ordinance were sent to property owners from the Pine Haven clerk’s office, under the auspices of the council, regarding mowing privately owned overgrown areas.

Clerk/Treasurer Tammie McGovern recently noted an unexpected issue as recipients began to call the office in response, namely owners of undeveloped parcels: “We don’t know who the empty lots belong to if they don’t have utilities in the system.”

This problem led to a search of property records on the Crook County Assessor’s site online by her and Deputy Clerk/Treasurer Sondii Boggess in an effort to ensure contact with the proper owners.

However, after several calls protesting that said properties had been sold some time ago, McGovern spoke with the assessor’s office only to be told that the records are not updated immediately after a change of ownership, “It takes them a year or more to switch the names.”

A number of current land owners who received violation letters also responded and agreed to clean up the property in question.