York residents complain about trash around city
Photo by York Daily Record
Trash awaits removal along Edgar Street in 2010 after dozens of volunteers helped cleanup around the City of York. Some residents complained about trash in the city at the council meeting March 17, 2015.
Instead of the first capital, York should be called the trash capital of the United States, one resident told the City Council Tuesday night.
Soiled diapers, cat waste and other household garbage pile up in alleys and on sidewalks, creating horrendous odors and an appalling situation across the city, said Teresa Johnescu, who lives at 31 S. Queen St.
Two other Olde Towne East residents spoke during the public comment portion of Tuesday’s council meeting, urging council members to address the city’s trash problem.
“I’ve never seen trash like it anywhere else,” Judy Fry said after she addressed the council. Fry, who lives on East Locust Street, said she recently came home and found plastic foam packing materials, paper plates and plastic bags strewn all over the alleyway behind her house.
All kinds of trash line the sidewalks along Pine Street, said Edward Williams, who lives at 258 E. Prospect St.
The city’s Neighborhood Improvement Ordinance, which the council passed last year, has not been effectively implemented by the administration, said Carol Hill-Evans, council president.
The 11-page ordinance gave code enforcement officials an easy method for issuing tickets with electronic handheld devices, Hill-Evans said, but the devices were not purchased.
The ordinance was intended to help code officials write tickets on the spot instead of going through the court process, Hill-Evans said.
“We gave them the legislation they asked for to help us keep trash at bay,” Hill-Evans said.
A public comment paper Johnescu filed Tuesday will be forwarded to the appropriate city department, and the council will follow up to see what is being done to address her complaint, Hill-Evans promised.
If nothing is done, people will continue to dump their trash as they please, violating the ordinance that council “worked so lovingly” to pass, Hill-Evans said.
“It’s very comprehensive and addresses the issues we heard before us tonight,” she said.
York Mayor Kim Bracey could not be reached immediately after the meeting.
This article comes to us through a partnership between York Daily Record and WITF. Contact Mark Walters at 717-771-2032.
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