O'Fallon program helps homeowners through hard times
Fortner, who asked that the neighbor's name be withheld, said his friend's house was packed from floor to ceiling with trash, including a freezer brimming with spoiled meat.
To Fortner's relief, city officials didn't condemn his friend's property. They transformed it."It makes me very, very proud of my city," Fortner said.
The new city initiative that helped Fortner's neighbor is called the Neighborhood Preservation Program, conceived by City Administrator Bob Lowery Jr. The city began the program about three months ago to help residents physically or financially unable to maintain their property, said Conan Stott, director of O'Fallon's Citizens First Center.
Previously, anyone in violation of the housing code faced tickets, fees and possible foreclosure. Now, residents who are willing to work with city staff are spared these penalties, said city spokesman Tom Drabelle.
"This program's goal is to eliminate punitive measures," Drabelle said.
Having to pay for increasing fines only compounds problems for residents who can't afford to address problems with their properties, Drabelle said.
Funding for the project has come from community development block grants. "We have funds that are still available," Drabelle said.
Fortner said volunteers from the police department, fire protection district and city staff filled three Dumpsters' with refuse from his friend's property.
Fortner said he suspects obsessive compulsive disorder may have caused the man's hoarding behavior. He said his neighbor, in the past, also battled cancer and a heart condition.
Fortner was thrilled that the city saw his friend as a human being rather than writing him off as a nuisance.
"This guy has been a wonderful person all his life. He's helped hundreds of people. It's just good this is coming back to him," Fortner said.
