I know we have spoken about the litter problem at
the entrance and throughout the community.
Several residents and I help by picking up what they can, but this
situation is now out of control.
If someone outside the Peaks were to throw
away garbage bags, I doubt very highly that they would trek down to Black Oak
Trail to do it.
Also, based on the fact that most owners do not pick up any
garbge (they just walk by it or drive right past it), I would not put this
action passed some of
the fellow homeowners. I know someone else in our
community saw a homeowner take a plastic bag of dog poop and just throw it
right behind the railing (still in the bag).
I am not just venting
here.
We NEED a solution.
I love this beautiful community that we invested
in. It is a friendly, family oriented community, not
a third world country.
Jeff Oster was good enough to make certain that this issue was mentioned in
the newsletter, but I guess it did not make much of an impact. We all have
busy lives, but we need to convey this epidemic to the people who do not
subscribe to this page. I have outlined some ideas below and maybe we can all
put our heads together to conquer this.
I would like to think that many
other owners here do not know the extent of this major problem. I have a hard
time believing that they would be OK with garbage bags and many other items
thrown in our woods. This is getting much worse than the McDonalds bags we
are always cleaning up in the entrance.
1. Peaks Clean-up Day. Not many
people showed up last time, but maybe if we notify people of the extent of
the problem, we can get a better turnout. Is Earth Day weekend, April 28 good for anyone?
2. When we do
clean the Peaks (even individually), I would like to purchase either t-shirts
or those cheap signs that go in the ground and would read, "Concerned Peaks
Owner at Work, Please Help". Too many times other volunteers and I get a
strange look like we are all doing community service through the Jefferson
Police. Some people have even said to me with a glazed look, "I saw you
cleaning yesterday" and not even offer to help or question anything. The time
for that and saying thank you to the few concerned owners is over.
3. I
am not sure if the littering signs will ever come, but I am also
proposing Neighberhood Litter Watch signs be posted, giving the owners the
right to get someone fined if they see some of this disgusting behavior. I
know it sounds harsh, but we all work very hard to afford our homes, and I
will not led some people lessen the value and beauty of our
community.
4. Throughout the community, pictures of the trash should be
taken, including the trash behind the railings, put on one sheet of paper and
distributed to every home. We could put a caption on it, "Your Home" or
something like that. Yes, this would cost money for printing, but that would
be must less costly than having your investment in a garbage dump. I (and am
sure others) would be more than willing to help distribute these notices to
all the homes.
Let's keep the Peaks beautiful,
~ Your Fellow Resident
