|
|
| Inmates to Clean Florida Neighborhood |
| By The Bradenton Herald |
| Published: 11/07/2005 |
|
Florida jail inmates will clean up a southern Manatee County neighborhood. Last week, commissioners voted 6-0 to create an inmates road gang and pay for their equipment to collect trash on county rights of way and county-owned property in the Pride Park area. Commissioner Amy Stein was absent. The program will target the South County Community Redevelopment Area district, which generally is bounded by 53rd Avenue on the north, 15th Street East on the east, 63rd Avenue on the south and 14th Street West on the west, although a small section extends as far south as 69th Avenue West. "It's very important to keep the community clean," said Commission Chairman Ron Getman, whose district includes the Pride Park and south county area. "I think it will be another notch in our belt (for south county). I wish we could have done it sooner." Residents and property owners agreed the road gang cleanup five days per week will be a big boost in solving trash disposal complaints. "This is a great beginning. It is a start to turn around a troubled area," said David English, a Pride Park area landlord and member of the community redevelopment advisory board. Remonia Lewis, president of Southeast Residents Association, said residents must be required to put out trash only when it is time to be collected by garbage haulers. Early placement of trash at curbs leads to debris being scattered in the neighborhood, she explained. "We have some people who never take their (garbage) can off the right-of-way," Lewis said. "Those tenants and homeowners need to be cited for that. This needs to be addressed." Three or four inmates, supervised by a sheriff's deputy, will have a truck, trailer, mowers and various hand tools to clean public property, one section at a time. Sheriff's Maj. Chuck Hagaman last week estimated that it will take three to four months to hire the supervising deputy and to buy the equipment needed to launch the road gang program. Start-up and first-year operation costs are estimated at $135,000 and will be paid from a federal community development grant, community redevelopment area funds from property taxes and the sheriff's budget. The road gang proposal came to commissioners about a month after they awarded two contracts totaling more than $1.6 million for expansion. |
MARKETPLACE search vendors | advanced search
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
|
Comments:
No comments have been posted for this article.
Login to let us know what you think