City to clean up weeds behind neighborhood
Posted at: 10/04/2012 9:00 PM
| Updated at: 10/05/2012 7:52 AM
By: Maria Guerrero, KOB Eyewitness News 4
KOB Eyewitness News 4's calls to the City of Albuquerque may finally lead to action for residents in a southwest Albuquerque neighborhood.
You may remember the city threatened jail time for residents if they didn’t clean up weeds behind their homes, but the issue ended up being the city’s responsibility to clean up.
So have they?
"Ah no, they didn't clean up," resident DJ Welsh said.
It’s a good thing a high fence is shielding Welsh of one messy neighbor - the City of Albuquerque.
“You the people are going to be held to this set of standards while we the government, the city, the state, even up to the federal level they don't play by the same rules," she contends.
The city sent out letters to Welsh and other homeowners along Andalusian Avenue SW putting them on notice: Clean up their part of the alley behind their homes or face a fine or up to three months in jail.
Afterward, the city said that was a mistake and that the alley is part of city property. The city said it would send crews out to clean up the area.
But almost a month later, the problem just keeps growing.
"I think that if the city is going to threaten its residents the way it's threatened us that we should have the same right to go back at the city and say, hey you're going to charge us $500 a day,” Welsh said. “We the residents of this community are going to charge you $500 a day for not cleaning it up and taking care of your own responsibility."
When asked why the city hasn’t cleared out the weeds, Matthew Conrad, the city’s associate planning director said they’ve been very busy and have had to reallocate resources toward Balloon Fiesta.
After KOB4's phone conversation, a city truck was spotted surveying the problem. The city said solid waste crews will be cleaning up the area Friday morning.
“You the people are going to be held to this set of standards while we the government, the city, the state, even up to the federal level they don't play by the same rules," she contends.
The city sent out letters to Welsh and other homeowners along Andalusian Avenue SW putting them on notice: Clean up their part of the alley behind their homes or face a fine or up to three months in jail.
Afterward, the city said that was a mistake and that the alley is part of city property. The city said it would send crews out to clean up the area.
But almost a month later, the problem just keeps growing.
"I think that if the city is going to threaten its residents the way it's threatened us that we should have the same right to go back at the city and say, hey you're going to charge us $500 a day,” Welsh said. “We the residents of this community are going to charge you $500 a day for not cleaning it up and taking care of your own responsibility."
When asked why the city hasn’t cleared out the weeds, Matthew Conrad, the city’s associate planning director said they’ve been very busy and have had to reallocate resources toward Balloon Fiesta.
After KOB4's phone conversation, a city truck was spotted surveying the problem. The city said solid waste crews will be cleaning up the area Friday morning.
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