LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The sweet sounds of a quiet neighborhood sometimes means all is well. But what once was, has now changed in one area of Okolona.
Multiple homeowners found stickers on their basketball goals from the city. It states 'this item must be removed immediately or Metro Public Works will schedule removal.' It indicates they violated a Kentucky Law, calling the hoop an obstruction.
But Kenneth Magnotte says it's not blocking, stopping or interfering with anyone else. He explains when the city came to his home about a possible leak, they laid out what part of the properties were his responsibility.
"The city blatantly came out and told us from the road to your house is you're responsibility. If this is the city's property, if they can say they control this area, then how come they never come out here and maintain it?" Magnotte said.
Kenneth isn't the only one with questions after having a goal on his property for more than a decade and never once receiving a prior complaint. Crystal Pawley lives just a few doors down and says her hoop has been on her property for six years.
"I was outraged I immediately took my phone out, called the number, tried to tear the sticker off and then I was mad because the sticker stuck on there, like you cannot get that off," Pawley said.
"I feel like they damaged my property. Try taking that sticker off, try taking it. You can't take it off," Magnotte said.
But it's not just about the property, they say it's about the kids who respect those on the streets and in the neighborhood. It's a place for children who live up and down the block to gather and play basketball.
"As soon as we see a car on either side of the street, we always yell car and everybody scatters.They're not out stealing, they're not out vandalizing, they're not out bothering nobody, they are just over here being kids playing basketball," Magnotte said.
Just steps from their homes, still in the Briarcliff area, we found not just one, but two basketball goals in the same location of a property, with no warning sticker.
Metro Public Works sent us a statement saying "Metro311 received a call of a complaint about a basketball goal in the street, creating a hazard. Public Works went out and saw the goal in the right of way, which is not allowed. Since the homeowner wasn’t there, they posted a tag asking that it be moved from the right of way. Inspectors also tagged two other goals in the street nearby."
In a follow up email we asked some questions as to why the violation was presented years after the goals were placed on their properties and to define 'right of way.'
Their response:
"For a property with a sidewalk, most of the time Right of Way is one foot behind the sidewalk and then the area from the sidewalk to the street. For a property without a sidewalk, the Right of Way is the area where the utilities are kept. Ditches are usually in the Right of Way. It's important to note that Right of Way changes for every location. For these addresses, the basketball goal is right on the end of pavement and is considered to be in the Right of Way with the rim in the street. As for why it hasn't been acknowledged, this call was complaint driven. As I stated below, someone called it in to Metro311. Once a call comes into Metro311, an inspector is assigned and they go out to the property to inspect. If they find a hazard or violation, they will alert the homeowner. The inspector did not check parallel streets because he was addressing the street given during the Metro311 call."
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