BROWNSVILLE - Residents at the Brownsville Country Club are frustrated with a home in their neighborhood that has excessively overgrown grass. They said it's causing a nuisance for them.

The Brownsville Health Department posted a sign on the home's front yard, putting the owners on notice.

"You know, there's mosquitoes, I know before it got this high, I'd seen rats behind the house, and they abandoned five cats," Ted Albright said.

Albright lives right next to the home with the overgrown grass. He said this is the third time the grass around the home gets out of control.

No one has lived at the home for about a year and no one is caring for the property, Albright said. It’s causing him problems, but it’s one task he can't take on.

"I wouldn't tackle it. I don't have the equipment to do that," Albright said. "Because it's so big and so tall, that a regular mower, you know, you just couldn't run it into that high grass and cut it off."

The city gave the property owners until July 20 to clean up the property. That hasn't happened.

Brownsville Health Department director Art Rodriguez couldn't talk about specific cases, but he said when property owners don't comply with abatement orders, the city will step in.

"We start the process of getting a contractor out to that property for abatement," Rodriguez said. "And what I mean by abatement, is we basically send a contractor out there to get the property back into compliance so that the grass is not tall."

Still, he said, the city has to follow the law when it comes to property owners’ rights and bidding processes. It could be several weeks before they get the property in compliance. All expenses incurred by the city will be tacked on in a lien on the property.

When problems persist at a property, Rodriguez added, the city can take a tougher stance.

"If we notice that there's no one following up on the taxes, the city reserves the right to refer those properties for consideration through the tax foreclosure process," Rodriguez said.

Albright, who's lived at the country club and has paid property taxes there for 36 years, said it’s only fair the city step in and get this issue resolved.