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Where the rubber meets the road: City and county officials address tire hoards at Bowen Lane, Lyte Circle
RACHEL TOWNSEND
Last discussed during the August meeting of the Dyer County Legislative Body, the county is taking a new approach to the health and safety standards for residential and non-residential properties. Brought up by several members of the public were properties located in Middle City and Bowen Lane. On each property are hundreds of tires stacked on top of one another.
Employees at Fowlkes Construction, located on Bowen Lane, said the tires are the source of standing water that has drawn countless mosquitos to the yard, making it hard to work. Foreman James Clark said he would like to see the City of Dyersburg take action and have the tires removed from the location.
A similar situation can be observed at Lyte Circle where stacks of tires line the property in such quantity only a small portion of the home is visible from the street. According to city and county officials, Leslie Toles, 46, is responsible for the state of both properties. According to city violation reports and statements from Dyer County Building and Zoning, Toles is not the property owner nor the tenant of either property but, according to officials, has seemingly hoarded the tires at each location without permission of the property owner.
In the city, Toles has received multiple ordinance violations for tires and debris dating back as far as 2020. Over the years, multiple charges have been brought against Toles, each for the same offense of debris and tires. In one instance dated January 31, 2022, Toles was cited for keeping a vehicle stored on a vacant lot which was reported as being “full of tires on site.”
Speaking with residents in the area, they said Toles has collected money by offering a tire pickup service for several years. Tires collected are then deposited onto one of several properties Toles has been connected to where they are left to accumulate over time.
To date, Toles has been cited numerous times for criminal littering at properties located at 325 Bowen Lane, 321 Bowen Lane, 1307 Meeks St., and 1329 Forrest St. In many instances, Toles’ criminal littering has occurred at properties uninhabited and without the knowledge of the owner.
In a conversation with Dyersburg Mayor John Holden, he stated the issue with Toles has been repeatedly addressed. Holden says tire hoards have been cleaned up previously by the City, at the expense of taxpayers. The total cost of the cleanup was $3,281.25.
“It has been challenging to deal with the multiple violations that Mr. Toles has been cited for by the City over a two-year plus period,” said Holden. “I understand there are issues in Dyer County with Mr. Toles as well. It’s very frustrating for us to attempt to clean up these areas and other nuisance properties while navigating through the legal process, both civilly and criminally. We have also enlisted the help of the Solid Waste Division of the Tennessee Department of Conservation and Environment (TDEC) to assist us in this matter.”
The penalty for ordinance violations is $50 per day per Tennessee Code Annotated 5-1-115. In situations like Toles’, where he is not the owner of the property, he is only subject to criminal littering charges but, ultimately, the burden of cleaning up nuisance properties falls on the shoulders of property owners.
When property owners fail to clean up the property, a judge may order a lien to be placed on the property. While Holden says liens prove to be effective at reducing residential violations in the city, Dyer County Mayor David Quick, has been cited stating the liens placed on residences in the county are not always an effective strategy to get the properties cleaned up. According to the Register of Deeds and the Dyer County Trustees Office, the last recorded property lien filed on behalf of the county was in 2018.
Holden says the city has looked into increasing fines for habitual offenders, however, the current Tennessee Code Annotated only supports the $50 penalty. In the county, Dyer County Mayor David Quick and Building and Zoning Inspector Dale Dozier say they will continue to seek a solution to eliminate habitual criminal littering. In the meantime, they are still seeking a solution to clean up the tire hoard on Lyte Street. Dozier says he will provide assistance in removing the tires from the property. However, he says the financial responsibility of disposing of the tires will be at the expense of Toles.
For neighboring residents concerned about diminishing property values amongst sanitation concerns, these properties are the source of much strife and a solution can’t come soon enough.