Blighted Housing Removal Impacting
Local Drug, Crime Issues In Area

By Gordon Hopkins The connection between blighted or rundown housing and the negative impact on the community has long been a concern of county and city governments, particularly as it relates to crime. There has been a concerted effort by the City of Fairbury in recent years to demolish dilapidated or condemned houses. The Law Enforcement Committee met on Tuesday, January 25, at the Fairbury City Offices to discuss the direct impact that crime and housing has on its citizens. Fairbury Mayor Spencer Brown asked if the those efforts are having an impact, “We’re tearing down a lot of houses, right? And a lot of these houses house some fairly undesirable people. I want to know if what we’re doing, tearing down these houses, feels like it’s helping your drug problem in town?” The Mayor said, “I want to make sure that, one, we’re on the right track, making Fairbury a beautiful place and safe place and all that. But you know, hopefully, a byproduct of this is we’re getting rid of these $150 rentals. And, kind of shuffling out some of the people that shouldn’t be here in town.”Jefferson County Sheriff Nick Georgi said, “I honestly think it’s helping. We’re seeing, you know, a lot of these houses getting tore down that some of these people are in.”“Its not like we’re trying to shove problems off, but we are seeing some of the people that we have dealt with for years moving,” said Georgi. According to an estimate by Sheriff Georgi, approximately 75 percent of arrests are drug related in some way, which is the same figure previously given to FJN by Jefferson County Attorney Joseph Casson.Cost of Housing The sheriff noted that the increased cost of housing is likely making it more difficult for drug users and drug manufacturers to remain in town, “By tearing some of these down, it’s getting harder to find places to live.” Mayor Brown said, “I’ve talked to realtors in town that said, I mean, our housing prices have gone through the roof here lately. Our rental prices have really increased quite a bit, I mean by double at least from when I moved here.”Meth LabsA ccording to the Sheriff, three members of the Sheriff’s Office are “certified for crime lab, to take down meth labs.” A meth lab is an illegal operation where methamphetamine is manufactured.Fairbury City Councilperson John Ebke is on the Law Enforcement Committee. He asked, “Do we have labs or any of that stuff going on anymore? Or that’s pretty much all gone?”“We don’t see it much anymore because it’s cheaper to go elsewhere,” said Georgi.Ebke said, “It’s obviously still here. It’s just not being made here.”New Legislation “There’s there’s also some new legislation that’s going to be going through that is going to require the landowner or the property owner, after they find meth in the house, that property owner is going to be liable for cleanup,” said Mayor Brown. “Then that has to be inspected in order for them to re-rent that property back out.” That legislation is supported by Nebraska Senator Tom Brandt (District 32).According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), “Contamination of residential homes with methamphetamine is an emerging issue of significant concern to public health. Cooking or smoking methamphetamine in a residential property contaminates the house, furnishings and personal possessions within it, with subsequent exposure through ingestion, dermal absorption and/or inhalation causing adverse health effects.” Should the bill pass, enforcement would be the responsibility of Public Health Solutions (PHS), which has the duty of monitoring environmental hazards. Sheriff Georgi explained, “So it’d be reported there was an arrest in the house, and there was meth use while we were there, or we did a search warrant on the house, and there’s meth in the house. And then the cleanup is on Public Health, that’s all regulated by the Public Health. They would have they would contact the owner. They would temporarily condemn the house. They forced the cleanup. The cost will be on the homeowner.” “The landlord gets that a couple of times, they’re going to start being a little more selective in who they rent to,” said the Sheriff. “The last lab they had in town, this was a few years ago, they had to peel the ceiling. It was an expensive cleanup. And it’s all at the cost of the homeowner.”Mayor Brown said, “That’s a twofold benefit for us as, one, we get a clean rental again. And, two, those property owners are not going to want to rent to those type of people.”

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