Reclaim our city

Dear Editor
I am writing this letter to the community of Pittsburg with extreme frustration and anger running through ever inch of my body. The Codes Department of your lovely city has taken a vendetta against several residents, lifetime residents. My father and several other good citizens have been facing hopeless battles with the men in the Codes Department. These arrogant men act as if they are Gods.
I sat in a hearing meeting with my father and listened to these men tell person after person that “all they wanted to see was progress being made on their properties.” My father has made continuous progress on the two properties in his possession, even though he has had several heart problems (requiring hospitalization and surgeries), the illness and death of his mother, and the severe illness of his mother - in -law. Anyone who has dealt with an aging family member knows how time consuming that can be.
With the country’s economic status as it is, it’s hard enough to acquire funds to repair homes. The majority of people that the Codes Department is attacking cannot afford to go get a loan, small or large. Most repairs are done slower as extra money is allowed.
The Codes Department’s complaints against my father are the roof needed fixed (which it is brand new now), the windows be replaced (all brand new now), foundation be repaired (was to be done over the next two weekends), and the siding be replaced (also being done soon — but doesn’t affect the safety of the home).
My parents were to move into the house this weekend because of the immediate need to downside. My father drove by the property to check on things on Monday only to find men there measuring to demolish the home. My father immediately went and asked the Codes Department what was going on? They are still proceeding with demolition, despite my father’s “progress.”
Now my father cannot move this weekend. Where will my parents go, I do not know? Does the city care? No. My father has to try to find a lawyer in time to stop this insanity, money he will waste rather than putting it towards the repairs. He would continue to work on the property and make the necessary changes they insist upon, but the foundation work cannot proceed due to the city requiring permits and inspections before you can continue with repairing foundations. My father is willing to meet their demands. He just cannot do it in their time frame. Frustrating. Now he will lose his home.
I do not think it is fair that the city can tear down our properties without our permission. What is the purpose of owning your property? They feel that they can tell you what to do, when to do it, and in their time frame. How can they do this when the city’s properties look so horrible? Drive by the city’s property on Walnut and 15th St. There is debris, trash, buildup of leaves, and parts of old equipment laying around the property that makes it look miserable, as well as their property on West 20th. I have to keep my yard spotless, why don’t they?
Again, my father is not the only one who has been attacked by the Codes Department. When will this community stand up to these men and reclaim our city? It is our homes. Not theirs.
Michelle (West) Walters
Pittsburg