Stanton addresses Skidmore City Council, residents

The Skidmore City Council met in a special meeting, August 23, to allow resident Rick Stanton to address the council.

Stanton had lost his last court appeal on the suits he had brought against the city after the city had served nuisance letters to him on his properties.

He asked if he put fences around his properties if that would settle the manner. Members of the council said he needed to follow the law. The council noted his properties are not eligible to be considered junk yards.

Alderman Marvin Sumy said Stanton moving junk from one property to another, is not cleaning up his properties.

Stanton then said if he had to clean up his properties, then the city of Skidmore needed to require property owners to clean up their properties. Mayor Robert Manning said the city has issued 43 citations. Alderman Jill Wieland said the council was accepting bids to demolish two houses.

Sumy said, “If you’d clean up your properties then the town would be almost cleaned up.”

Wieland commented Stanton needed to quit blocking sidewalks, that residents were unable to walk through town on the sidewalks.

Several residents attended the meeting, including former mayor, Tracey Shewey, and former alderman Tim Slagle.

“I don’t have problems cleaning up my properties,” Stanton said to which the room reverberated with “Yes, you do,” in response.

Stanton had asked the city to pay him $200,000 for his properties, which the council declined by consensus.

City Attorney Miles Figg said if Stanton would get his other properties kept up, the city would be more inclined to work with him. Stanton had approached former mayor, Sandy Wright, about possible tax abatements on a property if he built a 300-foot building to be used for retail. Stanton has not approached the council with a formal request for the proposal.

Wieland listed the positive things that had happened in Skidmore including the Nodaway Valley Thunder tailgate and the return of the Skidmore Punkin Show. She invited Stanton to attend Skidmore Community Betterment meetings.