El Reno City Council on Tuesday will discuss forming an all-volunteer citizens group to patrol neighborhoods for city code violations such as illegally parked trailers or dilapidated structures.

The Council will meet at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at city hall.

City Manager Doug Henley said the citizen patrol premise is much like auxiliary fire and police volunteers.
“The primary purpose would be to get citizens involved in their town. This is not unusual. The job would be to recognize various code violations,” he said, since the two city inspectors are stretched thin.

Code enforcement must oversee 6,200 individually owned structures and houses in town, with close to half being rental property.

The issue was initiated by Community Development Director Robert Coleman and Councilwoman Julie Rozsypal who suggested volunteers be trained and organized as “The Pride Patrol.”

The Council will also review an extensive environmental study of city hall, particularly the 81-year-old annex building, and hear some recommendations on correcting its mold problems.

Also, for the second time in a month, the Council will again retreat into closed session to review the city manager’s job performance. On Nov. 1, the Council, with one member absent, met in closed session with Henley for about 20 minutes.

Agenda items include forming a sanitation task force that will oversee a feasibility study on the city providing its own solid waste hauling instead of outsourcing the service.

Information will be furnished on repairing or replacing public restrooms in Burton Park and removing an old building at Ashbrook Ball Field.