ONLY ONE TOWNSHIP COMMITTEE MEMBER VOTES AGAINST REQUESTING THE CLEANUP OF TRASH ALONG COUNTY ROADS
MULLICA TOWNSHIP - Township officials want the county's Public Works Department to clean up the trash along county roadways instead of just running over it with a lawn mower.
Committeeman Bernard Graebener drafted a letter to Atlantic County Executive Dennis Levinson on Thursday that called on Levinson to do something to rid the township of the trash that lines county roads in the township."
(The county workers) aren't picking the trash up. They're just mowing it over and blowing it into the woods," Graebener said. "You can walk out there and see the trash is all cut up.
Committeewoman Kathy Chasey, who was the only committee member to vote against sending the letter, said she is "very comfortable" with how the county maintains its right of way.
"There (are) 371 total miles of county road in the entire county. Mullica has 50 or so miles of it. They only pick up in the right of way where they mow," Chasey explained. "Does that mean there's never going to be a piece of trash that gets caught in the mower and blown all over the place? Absolutely not. It's going to happen. But they do everything they possibly can to prevent it.
When Graebener asked what alternatives there were to get the trash removed, Chasey suggested the possibility of using the township's Road Department to clean up the mess on the county roads.
"We get the same services as every other town (in the county). We're not going to get special service. We're not going to get extra pickups," Chasey said. "If we want to use our own road department ... to go out and pick up county roads, we certainly can do that."
Harry Tillett, the head of the county's Department of Public Works, said his department already does everything possible to pick up trash along county roads.
"If you run over one piece of trash, it becomes 100 pieces and more work to pick it up. So we pick up the trash whenever we can," Tillett said. "Living in a tourist area, we are always battling ... trash along the roads where there is a lot of traffic with people who come from out of state."
Tillett said if the township informs the county about a bad trash problem at a particular location, county workers would promptly respond.
But Graebener said multiple calls to the county this year were futile."Basically, it leaves a poor impression of Mullica for visitors," he said. "It's very unsightly.
E-mail Robert Spahr:RSpahr@pressofac.com
28 comments:
There used to be volunteer groups in the town who would do cleanups on the roads in return for clean communities
donations. I havent seen any of these cleanups for years. Has the town stopped getting the grants and if not can they contact the group leaders that still exist?
This is the perfect example of how Chasey refuses to go along with anything good the Dems want. She won't even SEND A LETTER regarding trash on a county maintained road in her own township?
It's not like she even has to do anything, she doesn't have to write the letter herself or anything, just sign it.
What does she owe the County and Dennis Levinson?
Remember, WE pay County taxes, what is wrong with asking for services? But if she's "very comfortable" with it, then we should all just sit here and like it.
I believe at the last meeting she responded that she had called this agency. She got the same response verbally as Graebeners letter did.What I am trying to say is that no one ignored it , kathys style is upfront in your face and Grabener likes to write letters. Seems like neither will make the County do more than they have planned.
RE: 6:44 AM
The only volunteer who still regularly picks up trash is Joy Raymer, who cleans along a portion of Moss Mill.
Mrs. Church used to pick up litter the length Columbia, from Elwood to Nesco, every day, but she is very elderly now and lives in Alaska with her son.
Chasey is not going to buck the county when her husband is still employed there, pure and simple.
If she is "VERY COMFORTABLE" with it, why would she call? She CLAIMS to have called. If she really did call, why wouldn't she sign a letter as a follow up.
We all know she didn't call because she didn't care.
Think about it, IF SHE HAD CALLED, how might that conversation have gone? "I have a couple of whiney committeemen in Mullica complaining about trash on the county roads. I'm okay with the trash, but I said I'd call. How's the family doing Denny? Good? Great talking to ya'. See ya' at the next County Republican Meeting."
Isn't Mullica supposed to be part of the "Scenic Byways" route to attract tourism to the area?
re 718 am.
You're correct but I also remember seeing large groups usually on saturday wearing Mullica Township Clean Community Volunteers tee shirts doing cleanups on some of the major roads. There was also some community leaders also there and the word was they were getting money from the grant. There were also signs posted at one time that roads were adopted and signs we were a clean community town. My point is if County cant do it and the road dept is overwhelmed why not revive the program? Can someone from the towhship reapply for the grant?
This kind of coverage by the Press can be viewed as positive as it brings this matter to the attention of community members who do not read Gadfly or attend meetings and to the attention of county officials.
It shows that Mullica is a community that is concerned about the appearance of its roads.
It also puts pressure on the county to put more effort into cleaning the trash along Mullica Township roads as well as those in other communities.
And it demonstrates that one member of the committee is unconcerned about the appearance of our township. Hopefully, she will be replaced in November by someone who desires a clean and green community..
Mullica gets county grant money intended for litter control every year but it has long since been used to help pay for the operation of the transfer station.
I think that our road department has enough to do with keeping our own roads clean without having to do the county's job too.
We have elected officals in Mullica trying to get the county to do its job to keep its roads clean in Mullica and Cathy Chasey doesn't support it. She wants dirty steets? Dirty streets are okay with her? If we tried to use volunteers for more than a token effort, the county unions would complain. It does not look like Cathy is working for Mullica. What is she doing on our town committee?
The truth is the county does mow over the trash rather than pick it up.
If our committee members can't even agree on asking the county to pick up the litter, how do we expect them to address the bigger issues? Its time to throw the incumbents out and see if some new people can get the job done.
Cathy Chasey is "very comfortable"with the way the County maintains the roads. Chasey has always shown more loyality to her County "friends" than to the people of Mullica.
Our Road Dept. should not be required to do the County's job.
You have to remember that the only thing that Chasey considers to be "Trash" is opposing campaign literature and political signs that don't have her name on them.
RE:954
the answers are a free cellphone, the power, and free dinners.
re:834
Thanks for the information about all the money being used for the transfer station. Its nice to see that rather than help our own neighborhoods we provide disposal for the entire county. Everyone knows that for years its the same folks coming every weekend to unload in the white bins.The word has been out for quite awhile that Mullica will take everyones trash. Mayor Bobby Hagaman at least was always out there keeping everything in order.While Mr St Amour makes his rounds it'd be nice to see the Mayor out there making themselves visable. Was she ever out there when she was in charge of the place? Hagaman as Mayor did make a big difference when it came to folks trying to abuse the system.
The 3:57 poster is correct. I know of people from out of town who bring in bulk waste for their relatives to dispose of at the transfer station rather than having to pay to get rid of it at the ACUA.
Re 5:15 pm
Do you have any suggestions on how we could stop Mullica's residents from bringing their relatives' or friends' trash or bulk waste from other towns to our dump?
Even Bill Kennedy voted to write the letter to the County.
Does that show that he can think on his own when Forman's not around to intimidate him?
912
How about trash pickup like other towns ?
515
All that is necessary in order to curtail the illegal use of our transfer station is to occasionally have someone there to check the drivers licenses and registrations of those bringing trash there. I have seen huge truck and trailer loads of unlabeled trash bags going into the dumpsters. Do we really expect day reporters to check and make sure these persons are residents? I have seen vehicles dumping trash with out of state license plates also.
The use of the code enforcement officer or a police officer to check on those dumping trash could actually save the township a substantial amount of money.
At the very least, park one of our many patrol cars there in a conspicuous place to ward off these trash scofflaws.
The problem is that no one wants to say no to anyone. Its easier just taking the stuff.
Don't count on the county doing anything about the trash if the entire committee doesn't get behind it.
The trash is mowed over because no one gives a s**t.
And Chasey is "very comfortable" with the condition of the roads.
Watch how crazy she will get if one political flyer is found in the future that was blown in the wind. This proves that it's not the paper that "horrified" her in the past, it's the print that she doesn't want people to see.
Thats funny, there's only one Atlantic County Department of Public Works and unless these calls are being made to another department, I can tell you that there have not been specific complaints about trash in Mullica. And trust me, if these complaints were directed to the right people, the trash would have been taken care of in the best possible way.
RE: 12:37 pm post
And who is this Mr. (or Mrs.) Anonymous who we should trust? It seems that the county denied that there was a litter problem.
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