City of College Station Blog

By Colin Killian, Public Communications Director

In this week’s episode of “What’s Up, College Station?” Grace Hallowell and Code Enforcement Supervisor Tommy Shilling discuss spring move-out, property maintenance, neighborhood parking, and how to report issues on the SeeClickFix app.

The “What’s Up, College Station?” podcast is available weekly via Podbean, iHeartRadio, Spotify, Apple, and Amazon/Audible. Please subscribe, rate, and recommend!

If you have a suggestion for a future topic or interview, email me at ckillian@cstx.gov.

TRANSCRIPT

Grace Hallowell:

What’s up College Station? I’m Grace Hallowell, and today I’m joined by Code Enforcement Supervisor, Tommy Shilling.

It is springtime, and I feel like Code, you always have a busy season no matter what time of year it is. But the spring is a particularly busy season with the students moving out. Leases are being up, and people are moving in and out of their apartments, which can potentially raise some concerns and some issues that y’all have to deal with.

Tommy Shilling:

Getting close to the end of the semester, we start running to a lot of accumulation of trash and open storage. So just be mindful that it does back up sanitation a lot when they have to handle a certain amount of areas. And then also, multi-family is not provided bulk pickup, so you’d have to call sanitation, 979-764-3690, and schedule a pickup for them. So you can put out your bulky trash, open storage, and couches and they’ll get those collected for you.

Grace Hallowell:

When you say open storage, I think you and I know we have a very clear idea of what that is, but somebody might not know. So what does that look like?

Tommy Shilling:

You can’t openly store items in the public right of way. So, we ran into a case where a couch was on the roof. Unfortunately, that is not allowed, or refrigerators being stored outside. So you can’t see it from the public right away.

Grace Hallowell:

So what else is going on with Code Enforcement?

Tommy Shilling:

Just giving you a SeeClickFix update. We have an app that the city provides. It’s a free app, so if you download it on your phone, if you’re out in College Station and you notice that there’s a code violation out there or a possible code violation, or any other things, like potholes and trash that need to be picked up,. You could take a picture, it GIS locates your area. It has a category, you can submit that, and it’s directed straight to the Code Officer for the area or department that it needs to be routed to.

Grace Hallowell:

It’s very helpful in those situations where you see something and you may not know who to contact or if it needs addressed. But we do ask that you don’t treat it like a social media website because it is not that.

Tommy Shilling:

That is correct, you can’t air out your dirty laundry on that. So it’s not a social media website, it’s just a reporting mechanism to keep the citizens and city employees engaged.

Grace Hallowell:

Yes, because there are only so many of us, and there are a lot more residents out there. We need your help with certain things, because we can’t be everywhere all at once.

So we’re talking about move out, we’re talking about See Click Fix. Another thing that y’all are working on is rental property inspections.

Tommy Shilling:

We have a few set properties here in College Station that’s a little bit older, and we’re working through our caseload trying to get them up-to-speed or up-to-par, I guess you would say. My suggestion to you guys is, please make sure that you’re viewing the property before you sign that lease. I know students or other people coming into College Station sign those a year in advance.

That’s a contract between you and the owner. We can’t get you out of the lease or can’t get involved in that, but we can handle the property maintenance code issues that are going at these properties. That’s a bonding contract, so make sure you view that property before you sign that lease.

To segue into SeeClickFix, if you’re noticing when you move into a property, you can submit a request through SeeClickFix’s rental property interior is the request, and you can remain anonymously, and it goes straight to the building official and to the Code Enforcement Officer for that area. So that way we can get into contact and see what’s going on with those properties.

Grace Hallowell:

And what are some examples that would warrant an inspection in an apartment?

Tommy Shilling:

If your AC is not working properly, or you have an infestation of rats, roaches, black mold, or any kind of mold, we get involved in. But, as I said, report it to them, and then we can go inspect and see what we need to do to get that property up to speed.

Grace Hallowell:

Yes, and always take pictures.

Tommy Shilling:

Yes.

Grace Hallowell:

Besides SeeClickFix, if somebody would like to contact you, how would they do that?

Tommy Shilling:

You can contact our office directly at (979) 764-6363, or you can email pictures or any kind of data to the Code Enforcement email. It’s codeenforcement.gov.

Grace Hallowell:

And you guys also, you do so much I feel like we keep saying, “And then, and next.” Parking. So what are some tips for people who might be new to the area and are parking in our neighborhoods?

Tommy Shilling:

That’s a perfect question. So, get familiar with your surroundings. So look at signs that are posted, there’s postings throughout the city. Make sure you’re not blocking a fire hydrant or blocking a stop sign, because those are immediate health and safety risks, right?

Also, face the right way of traffic. You have to flow the right way because if you pull onto oncoming traffic, unfortunately you’ll be liable if you’re ever involved in an accident. So, just be aware of your surroundings. And also if you have any questions, that’s what we’re here for. We work for the citizens, so call that number or email and I will gladly or my team will gladly talk you through any concerns or questions you have about parking.

Also, please be mindful that Code Enforcement works Monday through Friday, 8:00 to 5:00, and if you have any concerns that are happening over non-working hours or weekends, contact the police department’s non-emergency number at (979) 764-3600. Hopefully, they’ll have the availability to come out and issue citations if it’s immediate health and safety risk.

Grace Hallowell:

We are all here, we work as a team, one city, one team, to help our residents and there should never be a need to feel scared or nervous about contacting us because we are here to help.

Tommy Shilling:

We work for the citizens, so we’ll be more than glad to educate as much as we can.

Grace Hallowell:

All right, so one more time. What are the ways that they can contact you if people have questions?

Tommy Shilling:

SeeClickFix, Code Enforcement email, or direct number.

Grace Hallowell:

All right, well thank you so much for joining me today.

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