Pictured are Karen Enwood, Joyce Shelters and Sonya Bosley as they discuss their ongoing problems in the Lincoln and Seventh Street neighborhood with the housing committee Monday night. P-J photo by Sara Holthouse

Three city residents are asking the city for help with problems they say are caused by drug dealers in their neighborhood at the corner of Lincoln and Seventh streets.

Karen Enwood, Joyce Shelters and Sonya Bosley spoke during Monday’s City Council Housing Committee meeting to discuss some of the issues that they have been dealing with in recent months.

“We are very, very upset and concerned about what is going on in our neighborhood,” Enwood said. “In a one block area we have not one, but three drug lords.”

Some of the issues include drug activity 24/7 and having a neighboring property to theirs at 220 Lincoln St. owned by ABR Real Estate, which Enwood said is managed by Keller Real Estate that is falling into disrepair and is the cause of most of the current problems. There are four apartments in this property, and Enwood said one man has moved out because in the time he has lived there he has come home to find “drug people” in his apartment, has had them kick down his door, has had mail and packages stolen along with cameras and other items.

In the downstairs apartment Enwood said there is another man and his elderly father with a heart condition in the process of moving out because of these and other issues, including the bathroom ceiling of the upstairs apartment falling down into his. People are also stealing food and unloading their garbage in the front of the buildings in the garbage cans, meaning that people that live there cannot use their own garbage cans.

Enwood talked about multiple other incidents that have happened in the building and neighborhood, including numerous times that the police have been called. This includes one woman who lives upstairs that provides drugs to people and has also given out keys to people. The Keller Real Estate person has been contacted about these issues, she added, saying that this management company has just been taking money and adding to problems instead of fixing them.

It was acknowledged that at this point there is not a lot that the police can do because of the state bail reform laws and also because it takes time to monitor places and build a case, but Bosley said one neighbor has little children who would play outside all of the time last year, and this year they cannot go outside and the neighbor will not either because of the issues. She also cited an incident with a suspicious car just the day before.

While the police are doing what they can, Housing Committee members suggested that the Department of Development might be able to help with some of the different code violations. Crystal Surdyk, city development director, said she has taken down the addresses of these houses where the issues are happening and has seen that there have been multiple code calls to 220 Lincoln St., which is something she and her department can help with.

The group also discussed the neighboring church which has also been having problems with break-ins. Surdyk said specifically she can help with things like junk or debris related issues, and that they are familiar with Keller Real Estate and their management company which owns multiple properties in the city and are leaving them in similar states.

Bosley added that she has been having issues with homeless people trying to break into the bottom area of her house, which is currently unlivable but is something she has been working on.

Shelters said another of her issues has been that someone threw a knife into the side of her house. Surdyk encouraged the group to stay for the council’s Public Safety Committee meeting, which took place after the Housing Committee, and to report as many housing code violations as possible, which Surdyk said is also coordinated with police.

“It’s never quick, I can’t promise it will be an overnight thing, but it’s on our radar which means I’m sure it’s on theirs,” Surdyk said.

Surdyk also encouraged the group to submit code violations to the Department of Development online as well, which can also be done through calling or emailing them. Enwood said she has before as there are also many condemned houses in the area. Surdyk said the online form is the only way they have to keep people updated on the progress of a case, and that contact information is never shared with people the complainant is complaining about. She encouraged them to continue to file as many as possible.

The group also stayed for the Public Safety Committee meeting, telling them of their problems and adding that these people will also wear masks or hoods so they cannot be identified. Shelters said people have also broken her fence, stolen her solar lights, and left rocks in her driveway that they use to throw up at the windows to get the attention of the drug dealer in the house at 220 Lincoln St. The three noted that the neighborhood wasn’t as bad until one specific person moved into the one unit in the multi-unit house at 220 Lincoln with all of the people that come to get what she has.

“It’s just nonstop,” Enwood said.

Councilman Jeff Russell, R-At Large and chair of the Public Safety Committee, asked Police Chief Timothy Jackson to have some private conversations with them and see if they can get something done about these issues in the building and neighborhood.