City council tonight agreed to toughen its nuisance ordinance by addressing appliances, namely refrigerators and freezers, which are left outside and standing water that could become stagnate and create breeding pools for mosquitoes.

Under the amendment to the nuisance ordinance it is now unlawful to discard, abandon, leave or allow to remain outside appliances such as iceboxes, refrigerators or other containers with an interior storage space of more than 2 cubic feet without first removing the door or hinges as well as any airtight seals.

“This is a lifesaving issue,” said Public Works Director Larry Chalker, who explained there are frequent deaths from children using the discarded appliances to play in. The insulation in these appliances muffles screams should children become trapped in them.

The amendment does not apply to those devices which are being used for their intended purpose or those which are used for display purposes by merchants as long as they are locked, crated or strapped to prevent a child from getting inside any airtight compartment.

The second amendment deals with pools of stagnant water which causes or threatens to cause infestation by mosquitoes and other disease carrying insects.

This may include swimming pools, numerous container, tires that have collected water or other standing pools of water. “We're looking at large ponds or bodies of water,” Chalker said following the meeting. “We don't want to go after Fido's dog bowl.”

Those caught violating the ordinance will at first receive a warning. If nothing is done then they will receive a $50 fine. If nothing is done and the city must proceed with abatement that would mean a $250 fee plus the cost of labor. “We're going to give them every opportunity to comply.”