A property owner in Perry was surprised and saddened Sunday morning when he found his vehicle received a parking ticket, but his heart perhaps was gladdened when he saw how quickly his Facebook friends flew to his defense.
“I park my car inches off driveway last night and get a ticket for $15 for parking in my grass,” Roger Baumgartner wrote in a Facebook post Sunday morning. “Not happy is a understatement,” he said.
At his lowest point, Baumgartner wrote, “Wow. I need to find a new place to live.”
Since comforting one’s friends in their afflictions with free advice is a tradition dating back at least to the book of Job in the Bible, Baumgartner’s Facebook friends, like Job’s, were quick to soothe him.
The words, “Suck it up, buttercup,” were not heard.
“You should appeal that,” said one Facebook friend. “They should have given you a warning or given you time to move it.” Another friend recommended Baumgartner “talk to (Perry Police Department Chief Eric Vaughn) after researching what the law states.”
Other advice seemed semi-serious at best, spurious at worst.
“Park it sideways in the street for the whole day just to prove a point,” suggested one Facebook friend. “Just claim it’s not your truck,” suggested another, “then show them how you can’t see over the steering wheel.”
One friend suspected opportunism on the part of the Perry Police Department, claiming the “only reason you got one is because they know you will pay it.” Another asked whether the Perry Police Department were “really that bored.”
A third said the police action was “stupid. They worry about unimportant things instead of what they should worry about.”
The worries of the Perry Police Department seemed very varied, ranging from stray dogs and children who refuse to go to school to people with suicidal thoughts and people in many other distressing circumstances, and the line between important things and unimportant things is unclear.
At the same time, some of Baumgartner’s Facebook friends were fierce in their principled defense of the rights of private property owners.
“You buy a place so it’s yours,” noted one champion of private property. “You buy a vehicle so it’s yours. Then (someone) doesn’t like what you do with your stuff, so they generate revenue.”
“Whose grass is it? Get ’em, Roger,” wrote another. “I’d fight that one tooth and nail,” said a third. “That is wrong,” wrote another. “It is your property. Fight it.”
At length, Chief Vaughn waded into the rather unruly Facebook conversation.
“Sorry you got a ticket,” Vaughn wrote sympathetically to Baumgartner on Sunday afternoon. “The police officers don’t write the ordinances. We are only charged with enforcing them. If you would like to get the ordinance changed, you can speak to the mayor or council. If you want to contest the ticket, come see me tomorrow, and we will give you a court date.”
In a gesture of filial solidarity, Baumgartner’s brother, Tony Baumgartner of Alexandria, Minn., replied to Vaughn, informing him that “there are many more problems in (Perry) than my brother’s well-kept property. The last time I was in Perry, it was embarrassing to say I lived there with all the tardiness around town. My brother’s lot is the least of your worries.”
Tardiness is perhaps less an embarrassment north of the Iowa border.
For the sake of clarity, it is worth noting chapter 69 of the Perry Code of Ordinances covers parking regulations within the city. Section 16 of chapter 69 reads:
Front Yard Parking Regulations. It shall be unlawful for any person, corporation or legal entity to park a motor vehicle or vehicle in the front yard of any residential lot unless the motor vehicle or vehicle is parked completely upon a driveway, driveway extension or combination thereof, or in a permanent roofed enclosure. However, this provision shall not apply to motor vehicles or vehicles being used to move, deliver or take articles to and from a yard, building or structure located thereon, or used in connection with providing a temporary service thereon, for a reasonable amount of time while in the active process of said use.
Roger Baumgartner himself came to an equable view of the matter by the end of the day, saying he was “sure it is because of the location I live. But it is what it is. Just thought maybe a knock on the door to tell me I couldn’t do that would of work. But now I know. Life is good.”
Making one last attempt at comfort, a Perry-area Facebook poster noted Bouton is “better than Perry when it comes to that crap. We still get to use trash cans, and grass is for parking on,” he said proudly.
I think the ordinance should be changed! We have much more pressing matters than to regulate how one uses one’s property. I am just wondering, if there wasn’t any grass in the spot he parked in, would he have still been ticketed?
If it was hard surfaced, he would be okay.
This ordinance has been on the book for years. It was written about the time Perry started to have a compliance officer. It was also at this time that the City Council tried to make everyone who had a gravel driveway hard surface it.
The Perry City Council meets tonight at 6 p.m. If you are upset with the ordinance, you need to be at the council meeting tonight to voice your concern.
I cannot believe that my brother’s rant on Facebook really makes news in Podunk, Iowa. You wouldn’t ever get a real journalist job where you had to report real news. The Job from the Bible comment was a stretch. ThePerryNews trolls Facebook. Classy. Lol
It’s an unbelievable time, Steve. For example, we cannot believe our president-elect’s Tweets make news in our nation’s capitol and elsewhere, but it seems they do, and it shows that what counts as news sources and the news media is in flux today. It will take us all some getting used to, Steve. As for real journalist jobs, there aren’t many of those left, but you are free to insult our competence in that line if you choose. Please be aware, however, that real news does indeed happen right here in Perry, Iowa, and ThePerryNews.com is usually the first to report it. In fact, we tell it all, Steve. In the present case, a minor parking infraction, trivial in itself, has proved useful in reminding readers that Perry has a code of ordinances, that the ordinances are enforced, that ignorance of them does not exempt us from their force, and so on. This is not news in the sense that a barn fire is news, but it serves a public educational purpose, which once was part of the mission of real journalism and which we still seek to practice, old school as it might seem to Facebook flamers and the like. As for our allusion to Job, we love our Bible, Steve, and many of our readers are familiar with its notable figures and types, from which we freely draw. Those competent to judge of the matter generally agree that Job’s friends gave him terrible advice, and we seem to have a parallel case with the Facebook friends of Mr. Baumgartner. Classy indeed, Steve. Thanks for reading ThePerryNews.com.
Well, the love of the Bible is about the only thing we are going to agree on, the rest of this actually being journalist and stories coming from trolling Facebook, we remain disconnected on, as I believe there is still good journalism out there and see it often. Flaming you? Sorry, but that is one of those sensitive social media terms that points to the other for calling them out, in this instance your poor journalism. Before social media, we used to call it holding people accountable for a quality product. Anyways, have a great day.
To be sure, Bouton is in no way as strict as Perry with codes and their enforcement. The town looks like hell, too.
Why are the police writing tickets for ordinance violations? I thought Perry had an ordinance officer. I get it. Let’s not let everyone park crap in their yard, but how about a grace period? Give me a break. Now if you want to fight it, it’s going to cost more in time and court costs. The city of Perry is out of control when it comes to generating revenue. Fines for parking in your yard, using trash cans, parking a car in your own driveway for too long, rental inspections, annexation — to name a few. Bring jobs to town, city officials. Do not bleed your citizens.