North Liberty ordinance would enforce cleanup for meth labs

NORTH LIBERTY - Officials are hoping new city ordinances will better establish local enforcement on meth lab cleanup and drug paraphernalia.

The North Liberty City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to approve an ordinance that would allow for local citations for drug paraphernalia and further enforced cleanup when a methamphetamine operation is found.

North Liberty Police Chief Diane Venenga said the meth lab ordinance aims to ensure that when police find a meth operation and after officials remove the waste products and chemicals the landlord or property owner would be responsible for having the building decontaminated by a certified company.

'It's putting the responsibility on the landlord or owner of the property to clean up or decontaminate anything remaining from the meth lab,” she said. 'It's a health hazard and for us we're taking it as a public safety issue.”

Currently, the city requests that property owners or those who manufactured the meth lab pay for the cleanup process, but there is no recourse in place for those who fail to do so, Venenga said.

Venenga said recent meth labs have cost between $3,000 and $5,000 just to remove the chemicals and evidence.

With the new ordinance, a property could not be occupied until after certified decontamination.

'As a landlord or owner refuses to clean up the property, that's when the city will go to the abatement process,” Venenga said.

A list of properties where meth labs were located and when cleanup occurred would be included on the city's website, Venenga said.

Another ordinance passed Tuesday will add local charges for possession of drug paraphernalia, rather than using state code.

Venenga said the main difference is reporting such simple misdemeanor charges would be done at the city attorney level and be handled similarly to a citation, rather than a long form criminal complaint.

The police department would still have to provide the same burden of proof as with any other charge or citation, Venenga said.

'It's just changing who is going to prosecute and what the code section is going to be,” she said.

Both ordinances require two more council readings for passage.

A third ordinance, that would regulate pawnbrokers within city limits, was tabled Tuesday so city staff can research current city rules to see if such an ordinance would be necessary.

Currently, there are no pawnbroker businesses in North Liberty, City Administrator Ryan Heiar said.

'We haven't had anybody ask, we're just looking at it from a perspective of trying to be proactive,” he said.