MEMPHIS, Tenn. (localmemphis.com) – For decades, some people have treated Northavenas just a big trash dumpster with a lot of people living in it.
The majority of people pay to have their trash removed by aprivate company.
Some don’t.
It doesn’t take much junk to wreck a neighborhood.
Willie Parks of the Northaven Community Association says,“This community has been a transient community. We have people coming andgoing. Some of them will get trash pickup – private trash pickup – and somewon’t. And then what they end up doing is putting their trash out on the street,and the next thing you know the whole street is littered with trash.”
Last July, we found a Northaven road filled with trash, junk,rotting food. People were afraid to let their children get anywhere near this.
They complained.
Shelby County officials say over the last four years in the zipcode where Northaven is located – out of more than 1100 complaints filed – 796 camefrom Northaven.
Public works spokesman Frankie Dakin says, “The communitycame to us really looking for a solution to the blight and trash problems theyhad in this neighborhood, really for decades.”
Mayor Lee Harris and others held two meetings over here this fall,and they came up with a plan.
“We will be establishing a special service district,”Dakin says, “… where each resident in the subdivision will be receivingsolid waste services. The special service district will also be funded by asolid waste fee paid for by residents of this neighborhood.”
It won’t go into effect for several months, but Alex Hensley ofthe Mayor’s Office of Constituent Services showed us a stack of forms frompeople supporting the idea.
“I think we were expecting 5% and that was generous,”Hensley said. “We got 18% and counting.”
You can understand why some say they will believe it when they seeit. County officials say they hope people will see it come next spring.