More cash, less trash around city
CARES money pays for neighborhood cleanup
Tens of thousands of complaints about litter and trash to Columbus’ 311 system and Columbus City Council prompted a new city effort to clean up five neighborhoods this month.
On Oct. 26, Columbus City Council passed legislation awarding $250,000 in federal CARES Act money to five agencies for the Cleaner Columbus employment program.
The money is being used to pay temporary workers for two weeks to clean up litter and trash in their neighborhoods.
These agencies received $50,000 each: Community Development for All People (South Side), Community of Caring Development Foundation (Linden), Franklinton Board of Trade (Franklinton), Greater Hilltop Area Shalom Zone (Hilltop), and Africentric Personal Development Shop (Near East Side).
Each is using $5,000 for administrative costs. Workers are paid $15 an hour.
The initiative was driven by several things. One was the number of calls to 311 about litter on streets that serve as neighborhood gateways and other streets, plus illegal dumping in alleys. Those gateways including East Livingston and Parsons Avenue on the South Side, West Broad Street and Sullivant Avenue on the West Side, and Nelson Road on the Near East Side, said Councilman Emmanuel Remy, who sponsored the legislation.
According to the city’s 311 database, the city received 61,287 complaints and calls for service concerning trash, litter and refuse from Jan. 1 through Oct. 31, although that is down from 77,510 during the same time period in 2019.
The second-largest number of calls and complaints were about property code violations: 17,993 from January through June this year, compared with 26,561 in 2019.
One reason complaints and calls for service might be down is that city 311 representatives weren’t taking calls from March 17 through July 1, when they moved from their offices to work from home, said Todd Dieffenderfer, deputy director of the city’s Department of Neighborhoods. During that time, residents could still file calls for service and complaints online and leave voicemail messages.
Remy said calls on littering and trash far outweigh other complaints he receives.
Also, during the COVID-19 pandemic and with the emphasis on social distancing, many volunteer cleanup efforts didn’t happen, Remy said.
“I’m very curious to see how this works,” Remy said. “This is something I hope will lead to a longer-term, sustainable program we can develop into 2021.”
Asked about the cost, Remy said, “The intent is to put as many people to work as possible.”
The Rev. John Edgar, executive director of Community Development for All People, said about 40 people
are working on the South Side cleaning up litter.
“The majority of these folks live in the immediate South Side community. Many of them in part-time work, not enough income to cover rent and utilities,” Edgar said. “So this is a real blessing for folks, and frankly, having it in November shortly before Thanksgiving creates the opportunity for some individuals to have extra money for Thanksgiving dinner and Christmas gifts for children.”
He hopes it evolves into a long-term program. “Certainly would be advantageous,” Edgar said. “The challenge of keeping the alleys clean is just an ongoing venture. When it doesn’t go well, it generates frustration and disappointment.”
Trent Smith, executive director of the Franklinton Board of Trade, said trash has been a severe and prevalent problem for a long time.
His group is working with several groups in the Franklinton area, including Franklinton High School, a new charter school for students in grades 9-12, to clean up trash and litter. On Wednesday, 17 students were cleaning up trash, and another 10 joined them on Thursday and Friday. Their cleanup zone included the area around Gladden House, the Franklinton branch of the Columbus Metropolitan Library, and the future home of Franklinton High School — a former church — on West State Street and Avondale Avenue.
Marty Griffith, the school’s founder, said a project such as this helps students build relationships with residents.
“School sometimes exists in these big structures and there’s no interplay between neighborhoods and students. We’ve met lots of nice neighbors,” Griffith said.
Breanna Powell, a 17-year-old senior at the school who lives on the Hilltop, said she was picking up fastfood wrappers and cups.
“I would have done it with or without the money. It made me feel better as a person to help out and clean up,” she said. “It’s not the cleanest of areas. I don’t want that to be the first impression for people coming to the neighborhood.” mferench@dispatch.com @Markferenchik