A resident’s concern over illegal migrants in Bradford was taken to city council again Tuesday.
Jim Tingley said he’s concerned about “problems in other cities with squatters taking over homes and it’s very difficult to get them to come out.”
He stated there’s a video online showing migrants how to take over a vacant property.
“Is there any ordinance in Bradford to either help protect property owners from this or make it easier to get rid of them?” Tingley asked.
Mayor Tom Riel responded, “I think our ordinances protect us better than some of those cities.”
And there’s been no problem with migrants.
“We’ve had issues with local people squatting in vacant houses,” Riel said. They are breaking the law and the city has been able to remove them, he added.
“I would say in every scenario, every migrant that has come to Bradford has been working and spending their money here,” Riel said. The only problems encountered have involved alcohol.
“Are they here legally? Do they have their Green Card?” Tingley asked.
“We don’t have the legal authority to check that,” Riel said. “We’ve had nothing other than a couple of them drink a little too much beer.”
Tingley also asked about municipal vehicles, and whether the city could look into reimbursing employees for driving their personal vehicles rather than buying vehicles.
“You might be seeing vehicles that belong to authorities,” Riel said. “We have a very limited number of municipal vehicles.”
Riel said it would be a liability to the city to have employees driving personal vehicles. Tingley asked if council could look into it to see if it would be a cost savings.
“I don’t think it’s in our best interest,” Riel said, but added, “We can look into it.”
Also at the meeting, council unanimously appointed Kristofer Goll to the vacant position on council, and assigned him to oversee the parks department. He was not present at the meeting, as a prior commitment left him unavailable.
Council approved signs for Small Town Girl Boutique at 121 Main St. and Royal Vape at 57 Main St.; approved advertising for proposals from a lead-based paint risk assessor and radon testing professional for the Office of Economic and Community Development’s Homeowner Housing Rehabilitation program; and approved a lease agreement with Kartesz Family Vision LLC for rental of suite 301 at Old City Hall.
The next council meeting will be at 6 p.m. April 9.
