Foreclosed home's pool causes headaches for neighbors

A foreclosed home on Lakeside Drive in Iowa City that has an above ground pool is causing a big headache for city housing and inspection service employees and neighbors alike.

Since the home at 1730 Lakeside Dr. was vacated by former owners a few months ago, the pool has collected a lot of water, which is now stagnant.

“The stagnant water is a breeding ground for mosquitoes, specifically,” said Jann Ream, code enforcement assistant within Iowa City's housing and inspection services. “Everyone's concerned about West Nile and I think that's a very legitimate concern and of course, it's just gotten very slimy, dead leaves, bacteria in there. It's not a good situation.”

Ream has been on the receiving end of multiple emails and calls from neighbors complaining about the condition of the pool and asking the city to fix it.

Mark Edwardssent an email to Ream on July 11 detailing the issues associated with that pool.

He wrote, “I see this as a public health danger, as a bacteria breeding ground…”

“It is a nuisance right now,” said Linda Fisher who lives next door.

Fisher said since MidAmerican came to shut off the electricity several weeks ago, the water has become stagnant.

When heavy rains inundate the area, water from the pool and her former neighbor's backyard leak into her yard and even into her basement.

“Once in a while right after a rain or if it is really muggy you can smell a stale smell,” Fisher said.

Fisher said at night she also hears bullfrogs coming from the pool.

“A lot of croaking,” she said.

Despite these annoyances, Fisher is most concerned about the potential safety risk to children or teenagers who may hear the toads ribbiting and get curious about the pool.

Fisher and Edwards want the city to get rid of the water. While Ream said the city would like to do just that, it doesn't have the authority to do anything on privately owned property.

“It leaves the city in a difficult situation,” Ream said.

Ream said Thursday a city investigator tried reaching the Delaware-based bank who owns the home to resolve the issue. Six phone calls were not returned.

“Emails, telephone calls, three to four different people, so we are simply not getting a response,” Ream said. “So, I think probably at this point we are going to have to go to court.

Ream said the city will likely issue a municipal infraction citation to the bank. A court date will then be set. If the bank, or its representative, does not appear in court, the city will get a court order to drain the pool water, which will likely cost taxpayers a few hundred dollars.

“There's a storm sewer inlet fairly close,” Ream said. “Especially this year with the ground so saturated, there's no way that we would drain it right onto the ground because it would become an issue on neighbor's properties.”

However, if the bank does show, it could force the issue to trial which would leave the pool as is until the issue could be resolved.

Either way, Ream said it is likely going to be four to six more weeks before any action can be done to remedy the pool problem.