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Residents urge cleanup, transparency and traffic action at Riverside council meeting
Summary
Three Riverside residents raised multiple concerns during public comment on April 6: unaddressed property cleanup and possible EPA involvement behind Beatrice Drive, requests for records about a reported $6 million building sale and allocation of cannabis-tax revenue, and repeated reports of nightly drag racing and calls for speed bumps or stop signs.
Three residents used the April 6 public-comment period to press the Riverside City Council on property maintenance, government transparency and local safety issues.
Dan Teevert of 15 Beatrice Drive said he has repeatedly asked the city since last November for a document the city provided (a stormwater pollution prevention plan) and that a privately owned property behind Beatrice Drive has not been cleaned up after trees and vegetation were cut. “They started cleaning out the trees and vegetation back there back in June…They’ve not touched the property as far as cleaning it out,” Teevert said, adding that the EPA had inspected the site recently and that neighbors expected the owner to have removed debris by a June 16 deadline that was not met.
Tim Gosnell of 12 Beatrice Drive asked for transparency about a reported $6,000,000 sale of a city property and said his public-records requests had been slow to produce documents. “If you approve the sale of $6,000,000 with a Riverside property, why can’t citizens go online and see the details?” he asked. He also urged the council to clarify how the city will use cannabis-tax revenue, and warned that many residents had not yet received mailed notices about upcoming trash and stormwater billing.
A council member replied that the council received a retreat briefing showing that cannabis-tax proceeds are currently being held in the general fund to cover shortfalls and that a detailed breakdown was not available at the meeting. The council member said the retreat presentation is the basis for the staff explanation that allocations remain in the general fund for now.
Frank Smith of 4703 Baezville Boulevard said he could not cancel municipal trash service after the city entered a contract and added a safety complaint: he reported nightly drag-racing and high speeds on Planters Boulevard and Baezville and urged the city to add speed bumps or stop signs. “They’re using Planters Boulevard and Baezville for drag strip…Somebody’s gonna get killed,” Smith said.
City staff told the council that postcards about the new utility billing, waste collection and stormwater charges had been mailed to the post office the prior week and that the utility bills would be mailed later in the week. A staff member gave the billing due date as April 27 and said the city will use a single billing cycle for all customers.
What happens next: Council did not take formal action on the public comments during the meeting; staff and council members acknowledged the concerns and indicated staff would follow up where appropriate. The council later entered executive session; the presiding officer said there would be no public action after the executive session other than adjournment.
