Scenes like the one pictured are just one of several reasons the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and the Town of Moffett are teaming up to clean up the town giving a much-needed facelift.
Photo by Sherrel Henry
“I’ve worked hard for two years trying to clean this place up,” William Bentley Sr., town councilman, said. “It’s time for every one to start doing their part.”
Along with the litter and debris problems the town is also suffering from an animal problem since many residence fail to abide by the animal ordinance and let their pets run free while others allegedly use the area to drop off unwanted animals.
“There’s a pack of eight wild dogs running loose around here,” Kathy Luper, mayor of the small community, said. “There’s been two people bitten by these dogs recently.”
A notice posted around town and also handed out door-to-door last week created quite a buzz around the community as it informed residents of a recent visual overview of town conditions conducted by town and DEQ officials. The notice informs residents nuisance areas were documented and photographs were taken of the deteriorating conditions of the community.
“A court date of April 1, 2009, has been set for violations of the town property owners,” the notice states. “A condition on summons for that date will be reviewed and decided on March 10, 2009, as to what property owners will be served summons.”
Signed by the Moffett Board of Trustees, the notice asks property owners to “please clean your property areas and help create a better environment in the Town of Moffett.”
It’s not just the people that live here that are being asked to clean up,” Luper said. “There are several people that own property but don’t live here. They are also being asked to clean up their area.”
Over the past several years the responsibility of cleaning properties and controlling animals has been left up to town crews, according to Luper. This has been done at the expense of the town, which has cost the town thousands of dollars.
“Everyone’s gotten a gentle nudge for quite some time but now it’s got to be done,” Luper said. “Thousands of dollars have been spent by the town to clean the area up now it’s up to the property owners.”
About 200 residents of Moffett and those owning property in the community are simply being asked to abide by nuisance ordnances and animal ordnances while others are being asked to not use Moffett as an illegal dump site or a place to dump unwanted dogs, Luper said.
“People that don’t want their animals should take them to an animal shelter not dump them in Moffett,” Luper said.
Currently dogs running at large when caught are taken to the Roland Animal Facility, according to Luper.
Two horses that once made news headlines after being found in poor health are currently being cared for by the town, which is running into quite an expense for the community, are being put up for adoption.
“Anyone wishing to adopt both or either of these horses should call city hall to apply for adoption,” she said.
Both horses were rescued by Moffett officials after they were found in a lady’s yard following their escape from a small lot were they were being kept by owners who failed to feed or water the animals.
“These two horses were in sad shape when we found them,” Luper said. “They’re doing very well now and the owners are facing felony charges.”
It is believed the problems facing the town are ones that can be handled without legal action if property owners are willing to cleanup and follow town ordnances set in place for the good of the community and to alleviate possibly health hazards.
Currently the town’s waste management service is Sue’s Recycling who delivers trash containers to households and then provides weekly trash pickup for a monthly fee. Anyone who does not have at trash container is encouraged to contact Sue’s to have one brought to his or her home. There is also a dumpster, located at 300 Grand Ave. in front of city hall, that is available to all area residents at no cost in case they don’t want or can’t afford the monthly service.
Luper encourages anyone needing assistance with cleaning issues to call the city hall at 918-875-3666.
