Police Remove ‘Junk’ Vehicles
By Donna Limberger
Staff Writer
The Van Police Department began having junk motor vehicles towed across the city Tuesday. The vehicles had been tagged as junk motor vehicles as officers enforced the city’s public nuisance code.
More than 35 vehicles were tagged and as of Tuesday 14 property owners had come into complicance with city ordinances.
"We tagged these vehicles and issued notices to the property owners. They had 10 days to get the vehicles registered and inspected before the vehicles were towed and property owners issued citations," said Van Police Chief Kelly Smith.
Tuesday morning Van Police Department Sargent Dusty Cook said, "We appreciate the response that we have gotten from the citizens on this. Most are really working to correct these problems,".
Cook said that three vehicles were towed Tuesday and that more were scheduled to be towed on Friday but that he felt many more property owners would be in compliance before that happened.
Cook also said that the department would start tagging more vehicles within the week.
Smith said that city ordinance defines a junk motor vehicle as ‘any motor vehicle which is self propelled and which is inoperative and which does not have lawfully affixed thereto both an unexpired license plate or plates and a valid motor vehicle safety inspection certificate and which is : wrecked; dismantled; partially dismantled; or discarded’.
Smith said that if the owner or occupant of the property that has had a vehicle tagged, gives written permission within 10 days to the chief of police or his duly authorized agent to remove the junk motor vehicle from the premises, the giving of that permission shall be considered compliance with the provisions of the ordinance and the property owner would not be issued a citation. However, if the owner or occupant of the premises fails or refuses to comply with the notice within 10 days, the police department will take possession of the vehicle and remove it from the premises.
"If a vehicle is towed, that doesn’t mean that it is gone. The owner can pay storage and towing fees and get the car back," said Smith.