Germantown City Council ended its October meeting with a work session to address nuisance properties. Although the City has about 50 open nuisance property cases, one property stands out.

Germantown City Manager Judy Gilleland called 21 Prairie Place in the Strawberry Fields neighborhood a “blight on the entire community” and said, “We probably talk daily about this property as a staff.”

Neighbors have visited the last three City Council meetings to voice their concerns about the property and the behavior of its residents.

At the September City Council meeting, Germantown Law Director Scott Davies said the City is doing what it can within existing law, “Obviously, we're aware of the issue with 21 Prairie. To be clear, we are exercising every possible thing that we can think of to try to get this property back in line, including both a significant amount of civil fines. Criminal charges have been filed against the occupants, and convictions have been had against the occupants of the property. It's obviously an ongoing issue, but we are throwing everything at it to try and resolve it and get it back into compliance.”

The Montgomery County Auditor’s website says the property has $3,492.38 in nuisance property assessments this year.

Prairie Home Remanded
According to County property records, the home at 21 Prairie Place is owned by James Stiffler, who died Nov. 2, 2023.

Court records confirm that Stiffler’s wife Ronda Payne and her daughter Maria Darlington currently live in the home.

Earlier this year, Darlington pled guilty to violating a protection order and in August was given Intervention in Lieu of Conviction.

In March, Payne was charged with disorderly conduct in Miamisburg Municipal Court. She pled guilty and was fined.

Concern Over Property Values
During multiple visits to City Council, neighbors have shared the multi-year ongoing issues with 21 Prairie.

One neighbor who visited the August Council meeting listed the following items on the front lawn of the property at the time: “three trash cans, one that is overfilled, one small trash can that is spilled into the yard, five lawn chairs, three tables, two kids bikes, and one adult-sized bike, one scooter, one big monster truck toy, at least seven other toys, three kids-sized pools with countless numbers of kids' toys in them, two kid playscapes, four storage totes, one lawnmower, one pair of kid-sized Crocs, at least eight pieces of loose trash, 30 to 50 stalks of corn, one car that has been parked in front of my property and hasn't moved in over 14 days, and two dogs that have been out in the yard, with or without supervision or a leash.”

“Like many other Americans, not just Germantown, our home is our biggest asset and our biggest investment that we're ever going to make, right? So I know if I put my home on the market tomorrow and somebody came and looked at my house that I've done a ton of work on, they're going to see this property and be like, you know what? I'm good. I'm going to pass. So I don't want my investment to be ruined by somebody else.”

In September, neighbors returned to the Council meeting to address “persistent property maintenance issues, safety concerns, incidents involving an unleashed dog, and what my family believes has become a pattern of targeted harassment and retaliation.”

“This year, corn was planted in the front yard. The corn has since died and fallen onto our property. On Sunday, September 6, my husband moved the fallen corn back onto the property; the residents then contacted the police, resulting in my husband having to provide a report.”

Germantown Police have responded to the cul-de-sac at least four times, just in the month of August.

Neighbors say that after repeated calls to Germantown Police by them and the residents of 21 Prairie, they feel like they are not getting support. And they also say that lack of follow-through by the City is enabling the behavior.

A second neighbor who spoke at the September meeting noted “a skeleton decoration in the front yard at 21 Prairie that appears to be making an obscene hand gesture towards the neighboring property. I believe it is inappropriate for a residential neighborhood where children regularly walk and play.”

Note: The skeleton with the hand gesture, which was photographed on Sept. 8, has been removed and wasn’t visible during an Oct. 5 follow-up visit to the property.

“The condition of the neighboring properties has reached the point where I'm embarrassed to even have people come to my home or even have deliveries made because it's been brought up multiple times,” the neighbor said.

At the September meeting, the City Manager said, “It's incredibly frustrating. In my 44 years of local government, all of which have been involved with property maintenance, this is the most frustrating case I have seen. So, we share in your frustration. It's a blight on not only the street but the entire community, and hopefully, we will be able to figure out a solution.”

City Response
At the August meeting, the City Manager said, “It’s an absolute embarrassment, and I wish we could do something more to assist the neighbors in that neighborhood. It's horrid what they have to endure every day, and we're doing the best we can given the limits within the law. But it's tough when you have problematic properties like this.”

In an Oct. 1 email, City spokesperson Will Parsons noted that the City had reached out to the neighbors: “The Property Maintenance Department has been in communication with the residents who attended the September meeting and spoke about the property at 21 Prairie. Current update is that the yard was mowed, including the corn.”

“It has been communicated to the owner of said property that if the grass surpasses the allowed height again, we will be sending the City mower and billing the property,” he said.

Existing Ordinances
Germantown has a number of ordinances to address nuisance properties.

According to the City, property maintenance is covered in Codified Ordinances chapter 1130, including:

October Work Session
“Sometimes when you have a problem property, such as at 21 Prairie, we can't write enough laws to take care of the issues,” City Manager Judy Gilleland said at the start of the meeting.

Gilleland read a draft proposal, based on language used in West Carrollton.

“No owner or occupant of any premises shall maintain or permit to be maintained the exterior property areas of such premises in a condition that deteriorates or debases the appearance of the neighborhood, or creates a blighting influence. Furniture, equipment, and other items located on exterior property areas shall be listed and labeled for outdoor use, and shall be maintained and stored in a neat and orderly manner. All other items shall be stored within enclosed structures or screened from the public view and from the view of neighboring properties.”

City Council member Michael Kuhn said, “I can tell you, like without a doubt, everybody up here and everybody that's part of the city drives by and sees what you guys have out there and wants to do absolutely something to help you.”

Multiple members of Council asked questions about how the ordinance or ones like it will hold up in court.

Council member Bonnie Koogle also addressed the neighbors in the meeting, saying, “Believe me, we want to do everything we can because if it's next to my house, I'd be sitting in your seat. We do not blame you for being upset. We just got to figure out how to wait and fix it.”

“People will try to use the property maintenance [ordinance] to get back at their neighbors sometimes,” said Council member Rick Reed. “And you don't want to create that issue either, you know, because that can be, as you guys know, a pretty big problem.”

The Mayor and City Manager agreed to bring a proposed ordinance to the November City Council meeting for consideration. The Council also reminded neighbors that it takes 90 days for an ordinance to go into effect.

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