The City of McAllen Environmental Health and Code Enforcement Department is looking for a few good citizens via its Citizens Code Academy to help clean up their neighborhood.
The three-week academy seeks to promote clean and safe neighborhoods through community empowerment and action by creating and maintaining strong partnerships between citizens’ organizations and Code Compliance Services. Attendees will learn about various subjects such as the department’s organizational structure, premise violations and substandard structures. Other topics include the 3-1-1 app overview, community tool shed, community partnerships, common code violations, nuisance abatement, zoning and vector control.
The training takes place on three consecutive Tuesdays from 6-8 p.m. at the McAllen Main Public Library. At the conclusion of the Academy, there will be a graduation ceremony with certificate presentations and gifts provided by Barnes & Noble and The Home Depot.
The first academy runs from Oct. 11-25. Registration is now open to a maximum of 20 students on a first-come, first-serve basis. Applications are available online by clicking on the Citizens’ Academy flier. Completed applications can be emailed to codecompliance@mcallen.net.
About The Citizens Code Academy
Steven Kotsatos, director for McAllen’s Environmental Health & Code Enforcement Department, says the academy is “a wonderful way to become familiar with the services provided by our department and to meet the staff responsible for providing them.” The program is free for applicants and is an opportunity to learn more about the Division of Code Compliance Services.
“The Citizen’s Code Academy will give residents a fresh viewpoint on the current code issues in our beautiful city,” he said. “For those who are interested in getting more engaged with the community, the Citizen’s Code Academy will provide you with knowledge of our core functions. The sessions are fun and interactive and will be led by McAllen city staff.”
Goals for the academy include teaching participants about various Code subjects and providing a method for citizens to become actively involved in resolving specific issues in their neighborhood. Through the academy, the department hopes to encourage residents and property owners to maintain their homes and yards to preserve property values and discourage crime and create a greater sense of community in each neighborhood by encouraging cooperation and increasing neighborhood pride. Most importantly, the Citizens’ Code Academy seeks to make McAllen a cleaner, safer and attractive place for all.
This new program is for McAllen residents 18 years and older who want to learn more about the structure and operation of the city’s Environmental Health and Code Compliance Services. McAllen Health & Code Enforcement staff hope to provide participants with knowledge of their core job functions through classroom instruction. The Citizen Academy is not an offer of employment but a volunteer program designed to educate members of the community.
Training And Understanding
The training will give citizens a better understanding of Code Compliance’s goals to create clean and safe neighborhoods through proactive enforcement and partnering with local communities in McAllen. Additionally, participants will learn how to become a Citizen Scientist by learning how to control, trap, identify, spray and larvicide mosquitos while having a chance to set up a mosquito trap in their own backyard.
McAllen’s Environmental Health & Code Enforcement hope to leverage Academy participants to assist with: removing and inventorying bandit signs; inventorying vacant lots; identifying abandoned dilapidated homes; identifying and reporting areas of illegal dumping; and assisting with identifying violations along major McAllen events.