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BOYCE — The town will be seeking a new employee to ensure residents and businesses maintain their properties well.
Code Enforcement Officer David Clarke has submitted his resignation, effective in two weeks, so he can spend more leisure time with his wife and family.
Mayor Zack Hudson said the town will start recruiting for the position soon.
The code enforcement officer is one of three municipal employees in Boyce, population about 750. Town administrator and treasurer are the others. All three are part-time positions.
Duties of the code enforcement officer include enforcing local zoning and subdivision ordinances, including rules regarding inoperative vehicles and unsightly property appearances. When necessary, the officer takes matters before a magistrate and/or the courts.
The officer has no law-enforcement authority, such as being able to carry a weapon or arrest people. The Clarke County Sheriff’s Office and Virginia State Police are responsible for law enforcement in Boyce. Officials say the town, which has an annual budget of less than $200,000, can’t afford to employ a police officer.
Clarke has worked for the town for a little more than two years.
Giving his final report to the council, Clarke said the number of inoperative vehicles around town has decreased.
He recently found out that Airbnb-type lodging was being provided at a local residence. He informed the homeowner that local zoning rules prohibit such a business.
Also, Clarke said he discovered a “pretty big hole … a good 6 feet deep” and 8 feet long on a property undergoing refurbishment. A backhoe initially was placed at the hole, apparently to block people from getting too close to it, but a larger barrier has since been installed, he said.
“I think people are fed up getting pestered by me,” Clarke chuckled.
But “I hope I’ve left the town better off” as a result of his work, he told the council.
“Your presence in town has made a huge difference” in terms of its appearance, Councilwoman Carol Coffelt told Clarke.
Hudson thanked him for his service.
Clarke said he and his wife are dividing their time between their home in Frederick County and a cabin in Hampshire County, West Virginia, they bought. The distance between the cabin and Boyce makes it hard for him to continue working for the town, he said.
His resignation comes shortly after the hiring of Matt Hoff as the new town administrator. Hoff succeeds David Winsatt, who resigned earlier this year.
Clarke added that he would have resigned sooner but “I didn’t want to leave the town without two-thirds of its staff.”
“I appreciate that,” quipped Treasurer Rachel Bedell. She would have been the only employee left.
