WINONA, Minn. – The City Council couldn’t reach the majority needed to pass an ordinance that would require landlords to evict renters who disturb their neighbors. The vote was 3-1, but four yeas were needed to pass an ordinance. The proposal will be on the Council’s next agenda. The vote:
> Yea: Aaron Repinski (at-large), Mayor Scott Sherman, Steve Young (1st Ward, West End and bluff neighborhoods).
> Nay: Eileen Moeller (2nd Ward, West Side).
> Absent: Michelle Alexander (at-large), Pam Eyden (3rd Ward, central neighborhoods), George Borzyskowski (4th Ward. East End).
Moeller said she has concerns about landlords, who often don’t live near their troubled rentals, being placed in a difficult position of policing tenant behavior..
Earlier: Landlords win delay on Disorderly Use law
Verbatim
Nancy Nelson, ordinance proponent, who lives near Winona State University: “When you think of all the times the police department has had to respond, sometimes six days a week — that’s how much of a problem was happening. Some people were calling the landlord and getting a response, but nothing ever changed.”
Rita Jessen, a proponent, who also lives near Winona State: “When you have landlords who don’t answer you,n and the city doesn’t even know who lives there, they know, but they can’t get a hold of them, it’s a problem.”