Latest news with #propertymaintenance
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Huntsville City Council holds work session to discuss unkept properties
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — The Huntsville City Council hears from concerned community members about unkept properties all the time. A work session was held Friday morning to address these concerns. The number of these rose to a point where District 2 Councilman David Little asked for a work session to discuss what the council can do to address these issues. Madison County School employees receive $1,000 salary raises During the work session, Huntsville Community Development Manager Scott Erwin gave a presentation to the council on what his department does to enforce the upkeep of properties. Erwin said the department issued about 8,300 notices in 2024. A majority of which were due to the condition of people's yards and houses. Around 5,600 people voluntarily complied and fixed the issue, while 2,600 didn't in the time allowed. Therefore, the City had to step in. 'One of our priorities is educating our community and increasing our voluntary compliance rates for grass, weeds, junk, house structures,' Erwin said. 'We find that we have a very high success rate when we educate and inform our community when there is an issue they might be in violation of.' City leaders hear the frustrations of those living near the nuisance properties, but said they have to give everyone due process to fix the issues. Decatur Morgan Hospital achieves CLABSI infection rate of zero 'If we are not following due process, then all of a sudden it is a federal issue,' Little said. 'It could be something as small as a weed issue could become a Supreme Court issue.' Due to the number of people who voluntarily complied after receiving a citation, District 3 Councilwoman Jennie Robinson said during the meeting that if the Community Development Department issued more citations, it could help properties get cleaned up faster. Erwin said the department has seven inspectors, which can make it hard to get out to every area of the City in a timely fashion, which led to the council being introduced to a new technology that could help. Huntsville's Chief Innovation Officer, Larry Lowe, presented an option that the council could consider, which would add cameras to garbage trucks. These cameras would scan people's properties when picking up trash. 'Essentially, what would happen is the garbage truck would drive every single road, they would take an image, and they would process the data,' Lowe said. This would alert the department to potential violations but wouldn't automatically result in a citation. 'It simply gives us where a potential violation may be,' Erwin said. 'We will lay eyes on it, again, we are not going through neighbors looking, it actually tells us where they may be a condition that exists.' Little said he's all on board with this and wants the council to act quickly on it. He also said that he knows enforcing the care of these properties can be a double-edged sword. 'Somebody's having a hardship, you know well, let's give them another 10 days,' Little said. 'There's other times when people are gaming the system, or hard to track down, and now the neighbors are dealing with this blighted property, so what can we do to protect them too.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Independent Singapore
12-05-2025
- Business
- Independent Singapore
Aliff Syukri's mansion costs a fortune to keep running and he is struggling to make money
MALAYSIA: Previously, entrepreneur and singer Datuk Seri Aliff Syukri used to think that owning a mansion is something to be proud of, but since getting one, he found out about the monthly financial commitment, according to New Straits Times. He allocates at least RM40,000 (SGD12,000) monthly to cover the ongoing expenses of his posh Petaling Jaya residence. Photo: Instagram/Aliff Syukri So, when Aliff was talking about where all his money goes each month, he specifically mentioned the people who work for him. He's got a team of twelve, which includes the folks who keep his house clean, his personal assistants who help him with his day-to-day stuff, and the security guards who look after the property. Pretty significant amount every month On top of their salaries, he's also got those hefty electricity bills to pay for such a big place, and of course, keeping that swimming pool in good shape isn't cheap either! It all adds up to a pretty significant amount every month. He also pointed out that it's not just his main mansion he's dealing with. His family's property actually consists of four separate bungalow lots altogether, so he's got the ongoing costs of maintaining all of that land and any buildings on it as well. Aliff also wanted to make it clear that he wasn't trying to brag or whine about his situation. He said he was just answering questions from reporters who were asking about his house. He then mentioned just how massive the place is – a whopping 28,000 square feet with 28 rooms. But the crazy part is, he admitted that almost 70% of those rooms just sit there empty. It is not by choice but to minimise expenses. He went on, 'I didn't account for the issues that would come up, such as leaking toilets, cracked tiles, and the related expenses, when I first planned this house. The cost of painting alone is RM300,000. Working hard to generate income Because of that, Aliff is working hard to generate income. His monthly commitments are substantial and require him to maintain a high level of business activity. If he had the option, he would prefer a smaller house. But he has come to terms with the fact that this is a house he made. He estimated that he has spent about RM3 million on renovations in the early eight years since moving into the house. Most of the RM3 million covered repairs, tiling, lighting, plumbing, toilets and water damage. He also allocated between RM300,000 and RM500,000 monthly for ongoing maintenance and repairs. He advises young people who are thinking of purchasing a house to look beyond the purchase price and carefully consider the long-term maintenance costs. Aliff Syukri Kamarzaman (born April 3, 1987) is a Malaysian entrepreneur, singer, and actor, known also by the nickname 'Datuk Terlajak Laris.' Born in Felda Kechau, Kuala Lipis, Pahang, Aliff Syukri was raised and went to school in Selangor. After his earlier schooling, Aliff also spent some time in Kelantan focusing on his religious studies. Then, he moved on to Shah Alam to continue with the rest of his education. Big family Aliff got married to Nur Shahida binti Mohd Rashid back in 2007. They've got a big six kids. He mentioned a few of their names: Qadejah El Zahra, Ibraheem Adham, Ammar Ahyyan, and Yusoff Al Qardawi. He also shared who his parents are, Kamaruzaman bin Kamaludin and Rozita binti Ibrahim, and that he has two siblings, Noor Hayati Kamarzaman and Nur Aini Kamarzaman.
