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Council member presses city to clear long-standing trash complaints tied to absentee landlords
Summary
Councilman Kelly urged immediate action after residents reported trash blocking sidewalks and a slow response after a 10-day ticket; city staff said they would investigate and try to clear the hazard the same day.
In a lengthy Sept. 30 premeeting exchange, Councilman Kelly raised persistent trash and sidewalk-safety complaints he said are concentrated in the West Ward and linked to absentee landlords who do not appear to respond to 10-day tickets.
Kelly described a specific location on Eighteenth Avenue in Sanford where trash remained for about a month after he first reported it, forcing residents, students and seniors to walk in the street. "As I sit here right now, I just got a text of people walking in the streets from the residents," he said. He asked for expedited removal and said the current timeline for clearing properties after a 10-day ticket can be too slow.
City staff acknowledged the problem and said they would look into the case immediately. A staff speaker said the department tries to address public-safety hazards promptly and acknowledged that some incidents "may slip through the cracks." The staff member said crews would attempt to visit the location that afternoon to make the area safe.
Kelly said he had worked with engineering, code enforcement and public works on similar issues and credited the director for prior help; he asked staff to prioritize the current site because of pedestrian safety risks near schools and senior housing.
The discussion did not reflect a formal council motion; staff indicated they would follow up with operations and code-enforcement personnel.
