(a) No person shall abandon or permit to remain on public or private property any excavation, well or cesspool, or structure which is in the process of construction, reconstruction, repair or alteration, unless the same is adequately protected by suitable barricades and guarded by warning devices or lights at night so that the condition will not reasonably prove dangerous to life or limb.
(b) Prior to the placement of any such barricade on public streets or grounds, approval must be obtained from the Service-Safety Director.
(c) No person shall destroy, remove, damage or extinguish any barricade or warning light that is placed for the protection of the public so as to prevent injury to life of limb.
(d) No owner or person in control of a premises upon which a basement, cellar, well or cistern has been abandoned due to demolition, failure to build, or any other reason, shall fail to cause the same to be filled to the ground surface with rock, gravel, earth or other suitable material.
(e) If the owner or person to whom a notice is directed requiring him to fill the basement, cellar, well or cistern, or other type of excavation, fails to comply with the requirements of the notice, the Code Official may cause said basement, cellar, well or cistern, or other type of excavation, to be filled, and may employ the necessary labor to perform such task. All expenses shall be paid out of funds appropriated by Council upon vouchers approved by the Mayor or Service-Safety Director. The expenses shall consist of the following:
(1) All direct costs for the filling of such items; plus
(2) The costs for preparing and serving all notices; plus
(f) In the event that the owner of other appropriate person fails to pay such expenses within thirty days after being notified in writing, by regular U.S. mail of the amount thereof by the Code Official, the expenses set forth in subsection (e) hereof may be collected by using one or more of the following methods, provided, however, that the expenses may only be collected once:
(1) Such expenses may be submitted by the Code Official to the County Auditor and placed upon the tax duplicate for collection as a special assessment and thereupon shall be collected as other taxes and assessments; or
(2) The Director of Law is authorized to bring suit and take other necessary legal action to collect all such expenses.
(g) The remedies provided in this section shall be in addition to the penalty provided in Section 1404.99 and other remedy allowed by law.
(Ord. 18-36. Passed 5-22-18.)