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Resident raises concerns about Columbus Avenue winter work, reports dumping at Southway Plaza
Summary
At the Oct. 5 Board of Sanitary Commissioners meeting, resident Rick Yenser urged the board to clarify pending work on Columbus Avenue, warned that closures are blocking streets between Madison and Walnut, and said Southway Plaza is becoming a dumping ground after Dollar General left.
Rick Yenser, a local newsman and author, told the Board of Sanitary Commissioners on Oct. 5, 2025, that he is “wondering what’s going to happen with Columbus Avenue over the winter.”
Yenser said the work has not appeared to progress recently and warned that ongoing closures are blocking “all the streets between… Madison and Walnut.” He also said Southway Plaza has “become a trash dump” since a Dollar General store left the site and described items being dumped there as “everything from tires to trash to anything anybody wants to dump.”
The public comment came during the board’s allotted public comment period and did not lead to an immediate formal action. Yenser urged the sanitary district to coordinate with the building commissioner to monitor the Southway Plaza site. He also expressed concern about taxes, saying, “I hope… you’re not going to raise our taxes,” and asked the sanitary district to maintain river and trash cleanup.
The board record does not show an official response or a directive recorded in the minutes during the public comment period. The comments were entered into the meeting record before the board moved on to approve minutes and the register of claims.
