Aldermen discuss ordinance to clean up junk

People who have junk on their properties in Philadelphia may soon be forced to clean it up or face paying a fine.

The Philadelphia Mayor and Board of Alderman briefly discussed during a Monday meeting  ordinances that are in place in other communities and put teeth into enforcement measures when it comes to holding property owners responsible for unclean properties.

Mayor James A. Young said the proposal has financial penalties for people who do not bring their property into compliance including the writing tickets.

“This is contingent on us approving this,” said Alderman Joe Tullos. “This is totally a new law.”

Tullos did not say where he stood on the matter but promised to carefully review it. Young said it could come up in Tuesday’s board meeting.

In other matters, aldermen voted to:

• Approve the minutes of the previous meeting, and the claims docket;

• Approve to use either the Baptist Center or the Vo-tech building as the polling place for Ward 2 votes in the upcoming municipal elections;

• Approve on a 5-0 vote for Eric Lyons to become Philadelphia’s next police chief;

• Approve the signing of an agreement with Waggoner Engineering to do the renovation project with the old Booker T. Gym. The city is also considering whether to apply for a $150,000 grant which could lead to comprehensive planning for the city, according to the MSDH.