OLDS — A local resident has expressed concern about the weeds filling the former Olds High School athletic grounds, just behind A&W.
Annie Quinnett lives in the 5100 block of 44th Street, just north of the property.
She says most of the time, the land, now known as Chinook Estates, remains "a big field of tall grass and weeds.”
Chinook Estates is owned by Span West Building Corporation of Saskatoon.
During an interview with the Albertan, Quinnett said she and other neighbours have complained about the issue to the Town of Olds to no satisfaction.
She said she’s aware the land is owned by a developer but was told information about that developer could not be released so “we have to communicate through the Town (of Olds).”
Quinnett said to be fair, town staff do occasionally cut the weeds down, but she believes that’s not enough.
“According to our neighbour, one of the weeds in there is a noxious weed and should be dealt with – not just cutting it down, but it has to be actually uprooted and bagged and hauled away,” she said.
"I don’t feel that it’s appropriate for once-a-year grass-cutting. Then it just grows again,” Quinnett said.
“I guess what my concern is is there are a lot of people in the neighbourhood who work hard to maintain their yards, as they’re supposed to, and then it’s hard to keep up to the weed infestation in ours when we have to look at this unsightly property,” she added.
She said those who own property should be required to keep it looking good.
“It shouldn’t be up to us.”
Brent Williams, the Town of Olds’ chief administrative officer, is aware of concerns about the property.
“(I) Just heard from our protective services department. Yes, the town is aware of this property and has issued several enforcement orders in recent years. And there is currently an enforcement order against it," Williams wrote in a recent email.
“However, there are legislative requirements around enforcing orders on private property, mainly notification periods and allowance for rectification by owners prior Town (of Olds) intervention.”
Williams also noted that anyone wishing to register complaints about unsightly property can do so by reporting their concerns online in the Report A Problem portion of the town’s website.
When contacted about Quinnett’s frustrations regarding the Chinook Estates property, Span West Building Corporation owner Josh Remai was sympathetic.
“We have a contractor that is supposed to come and cut the subdivision but he has been a bit hard to pin down,” Remai wrote in an email.
“It is in everyone's best interest to keep the place looking good, including ours. Unfortunately, our local contractor has had trouble keeping up due to the rain this spring,” he wrote in an email.
