The Monee village letter was as blunt as a mallet: Tom Hires had 60 days to paint the east side of his house or risk fines, court action or both.
By the time Hires was done reading the village ordinance violation notice, he was blistering more than the light-beige siding that brought on the ultimatum.
“My house isn’t falling down, it’s a nice-looking house,” said Hires, an appraiser and former trustee who has lived in Monee for nearly two decades.
“The village is being petty, in my opinion, especially when there are much more pressing issues to deal with. I don’t think it’s right.”
Hires speaks for a number of Monee residents who are upset by the village’s recent crackdown on community blight.
The village has given about three dozen homeowners and businesses until Friday to spruce up their siding, mend their fences and do other home and yard improvements.
Like many other communities that have ordinances to curb neighborhood eyesores, Monee has decided to put muscle behind its existing law, to step up inspections and to stand firm on enforcement–in part to keep up with newer development.
“If we’ve got one part of town that’s new and crisp and updated, then the rest of the village should look the same,” said Trustee Dick Harrison, one of three inspectors for Monee.
Harrison noted that there were few citations west of Interstate Highway 57, where there is more new development.
The inspections are part of a strategy that has worked well for years in towns such as Berwyn, where two inspectors daily patrol for drooping gutters, missing shingles, tilting mailboxes and other ordinance transgressions.
“We get some negative (reaction) because you are telling persons to do something like paint the garage,” said Vernon Pechous, superintendent of the Berwyn Building Department.
Many residents are “happy we have the program to keep the community up,” said Rose Molaro, an administrative secretary who helps oversee the 8-year-old blight ordinance program. “Every year there are less violations.”
But in fast-changing Monee, where longtime residents are still getting used to seeing stoplights and new subdivisions where animal crossings and farms used to be, the recent crackdown seems to have done more to dampen community spirit than build it.
Hires and other residents say that it’s not so much the white-glove test, but the tone and timing of the repair blitz rankling new and old-timers in the town of 1,700.
“They should go talk to the people and find out why they haven’t made the repairs instead of just sending out a letter,” said Wayne Artman, who wasn’t out of compliance, but was upset enough for his neighbors to speak out at a recent Village Board meeting.
“This town is growing too fast,” he said. “There are so many other things to be done . . . but they are worried about people painting their houses. They don’t have their priorities straight.”
Harrison explained that the village is emphasizing the cleanup for two reasons: “The new subdivisions are more glamorous, and there’s more enforcement of village ordinances.”
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Harrison helped inspect the exteriors of about 750 properties in June. About 35 were written up for violations such as rotting boards, overgrown lawns or improper storage of materials.
Letters were sent out telling residents or business owners they had 60 days to comply or file for a 90-day extension at Village Hall. After Friday, the village will re-inspect the properties and determine whether to take further action.
The village may cite and fine offenders up to $50 a week, depending on how long they are out of compliance. After four weeks, the village may ask for liens against the property, Harrison said.
Monee provides a list of repair workers but does not offer financial aid to residents who can’t afford the improvements, he said.
In Berwyn, homeowners who qualify can get free repairs, Molaro said. The Building Department is also planning a volunteer program, possibly with the Boy Scouts, to help other residents.
The Monee ordinance is important because town structures need updating “to make residents and business more aware of what should be, rather than what has been,” said Harrison, adding that the average home value in Monee is $125,000 to $150,000.
Mike Fillicetti, who moved from Oak Forest to the new Monee Fairgrounds subdivision two years ago, said the older parts of town are an important part of Monee’s charm. “I hate to see the seniors go through something like this,” said Fillicetti. “They’ve been living here a whole lot longer than us. That’s an older subdivision and that’s the way it should be.”
Fillicetti agreed with Artman and Hires that the village should concentrate on matters such as lowering sewer rates, repairing and paving roads, and building parks and schools.
Residents were especially angered this spring when they were notified they would be billed for treating millions of gallons of storm water that entered Monee’s sewer system, which village officials say is flawed.
“We should cite the village for being so neglectful,” Fillicetti said.
Harrison acknowledged there are other problems facing Monee, and he noted there was an open village trustee seat that runs through May of 2000.
“We hear a number of people complain about different things, but I don’t hear anyone coming forward to resolve them,” he said.