There’s a hole in the roof of the house, the smell of dog feces is nauseating at times, shingles litter the backyard and the building is a fire hazard.
These are some concerns that resident Carter Currie has with the derelict property at 1511 Hastings Street on South Hill that is adjacent to his property. The home has been empty for 17 years and the property has been poorly maintained. The owner — Dr. Elizabeth James, who also owns a derelict property at 749 Stadacona Street East — has been delinquent for nearly two decades and lives in Ontario.
However, the most frustrating part for Currie has been getting anyone to listen to him. Since Aug. 15, 2018, Currie has pleaded for a resolution from city manager Jim Puffalt, Mayor Fraser Tolmie, members of city council and fire Chief Rod Montgomery. Aside from two city councillors, the rest of these officials have not appeared to be as receptive to Currie’s plight.
His preference would be for city hall to demolish the house since it’s a fire hazard, there are piles of dog feces inside — it used to be a kennel — and mould is also growing inside. He also wants the city to cut down the trees since they are destroying his fence.
The Moose Jaw Express has published several of Currie’s letters to the editor during the last couple of years. Many can be found on the MooseJawToday.com website.
Where’s the support?
Currie recently contacted the provincial ombudsman to complain about the City of Moose Jaw’s lack of action. That proved unfruitful since neither the ombudsman nor provincial government can tell the municipality what to do since it is an autonomous body.
The ombudsman said she would look into the municipality’s ethics bylaw, as he wanted to know why — if there is an ethics requirement for city council — the people they represent are not allowed to file an ethics complaint and keep municipal officials accountable.
“I’ve learned to fight my battles my way. If you’re going to go after something or do something, you have to stand up for what you’re doing,” Currie, 70, said recently.
The ombudsman also told Currie to continue to lodge complaints and to continue to ask questions of city administration and city council. In his most recent letter to council, Currie asked why he never hears from anyone at city hall.
Disappointment with city administration
During the interview, Currie had no kind words for city manager Jim Puffalt or the latter’s lack of support.
“I thought Mr. Puffalt was a better guy than he is,” said Currie, adding the city manager is “the biggest phony” he’s ever met.
In one of the last emails Currie received from Puffalt, Currie believes he caught the city manager in a "lie" since Puffalt wrote that other city councillors had replied to his concern. However, none had sent him anything about his letter.
“That’s what I don’t understand. How do they (councillors) not reply to you? How do they not go to the city and say, ‘What are you doing about this? We’re going to change the bylaw so these houses get cleaned up,’” said Currie. “I just want this over with.”
Puffalt did offer to have the Administrative Review Officer look at the issue, but Carter declined since he didn't think his complaint would be taken seriously.
Currie recalls Puffalt initially telling him that the municipality would demolish the house. However, the city manager came back later and said he had “misspoke” and that city hall had given James a permit to demolish her back deck. Furthermore, Montgomery had allegedly told Puffalt the municipality couldn’t go on the property to inspect it based on a city regulation.
Currie asked Montgomery to show him that regulation; the fire chief has not provided any documentation to back up his claim in the last two years. Furthermore, Currie has never been able to verify what municipal officials tell him since they never provide particular regulations.
Disappointment with city council too
“I don’t have much use for this council,” Currie said.
He feels that Coun. Brian Swanson and Coun. Dawn Luhning are the only two councillors to take him seriously. While Coun. Chris Warren sympathized with Currie through an email, the latter doesn’t believe the councillor understands the situation at all.
During an executive committee meeting in 2018, Luhning attempted to find out what was happening with the house. However, city administration said they couldn’t tell her what was happening due to restrictions under the Freedom of Information Act.
It was only recently that Currie received a message from the mayor. It was an automated reply saying Tolmie was on holiday and that he should contact the mayor’s assistant. However, she was on vacation at the same time.
“I don’t have any respect for the mayor (either),” added Currie.
Comparing bylaws
Since Puffalt worked in North Battleford, Currie checked its minimum maintenance bylaw to see what it said about complaints with nuisance properties. The difference in bylaws between the two communities was stark to Currie, who thought North Battleford’s made Moose Jaw’s “look sick” in comparison.
During a conversation with Montgomery, Currie says he realized the only time city administration changes a bylaw here is when friends of city administration or someone at city hall want to do something. The rest of the time the bylaws are left alone. Currie found that city hall last updated the minimum maintenance bylaw in 2014-15.
“Rod Montgomery stood up here and told me that, ‘Well, we interpret things a little differently than the way it’s written.’ What’s the point of interpreting it if it’s not written in there?” Currie stated.
The ombudsman told Currie that the only person who can have the house demolished is Montgomery. However, the resident wondered why the bylaw enforcement officer didn’t have the power to act. After all, a municipal bylaw says property owners can be fined up to $25,000 for not fixing or maintaining their property or home.
The Express has reached out to city hall for comment.
