Thanks to Valdosta Stormwater for cleaning up that trash on Threemile Branch at Country Club Road. Thanks even more for modifying the Click ‘n’ Fix procedures for litter tickets.

Maybe more of this trash can get cleaned up and upstream problems fixed before the WWALS paddle Langdale Park, Sugar Creek, Troupville Boat Ramp, Withlacoochee River 2022-05-07. If not, the Mayor and others will be paddling through trash rafts. Everyone please use Click ‘n’ Fix to report trash problems to help Valdosta clean them up.

Trash, Where, Cleanup

That trash got submitted to Valdosta as Click ‘n’ Fix as Issue ID 11870600 on February 13, 2022.

A long chain of responses followed.

Public Works Department (Verified Official)
Public Works Department assigned this issue to Angela Bray
02/14/2022 · Flag

Acknowledged Angela Bray (Verified Official)
Thank you for reporting, the City of Valdosta will look into this issue and get back to you!
02/14/2022 · Flag

Angela Bray (Verified Official)
Please contact the Engineering Dept at 229.259.3530 to discuss ongoing and future endeavors regarding litter control.
02/16/2022 · Flag

Closed Angela Bray (Verified Official)
Thank you for reporting to the City of Valdosta.
02/16/2022 · Flag

So far, we see the old model of litter tickets get sent to Valdosta Stormwater, who closed this one out even though actually the ticket got forwarded to the City Marshalls.

Here’s a difference already:

Brandon Corbitt (Verified Official)
Brandon Corbitt assigned this issue to Brandon Corbitt
02/21/2022 · Flag

Used to be the City Marshalls did not respond directly to Click ‘n’ Fix. This time they did: Brandon Corbitt is City Marshall for Zone 2, according to Valdosta’s web page for Community Protection, which is over the City Marshalls. This is also what other governments call Code Enforcement.

An anonymous SeeClickFix user (Registered User)
Maybe this will help clarify the address of the property owner with all the trash

Map: Valdosta Threemile Branch land downstream of Country Club Drive

02/23/2022 · Flag

An anonymous SeeClickFix user (Registered User)
It appears to be city property I could be wrong

Text: Valdosta Threemile Branch land downstream of Country Club Drive

02/23/2022 · Flag

For those not familiar with the Lowndes County Tax Assessors maps, that’s where the above map and text came from, for Parcel 0076D 0156. Anybody can pan and zoom on the Assessors map and check ownership of any parcel. Anybody including every Valdosta City department can do this.

Somebody else got interested:

Aza (Registered User)
I wonder if they will stall so long until the state steps in a fix’s it. Roadway and paving projects have already gone that route. Over three years now and still not done. “Sure if you wait long enough somebody else will fix it. “
02/28/2022 · Flag

I don’t know who Aza is, but we need more people chiming in on Click ‘n’ Fix threads and sending in more reports.

Most of another week passed, and then:

Angela Bray (Verified Official)

Picking up litter at Country Club Drive Bridge

03/04/2022 · Flag

Angela Bray (Verified Official)
Stormwater Crew picked up litter today on Three Mile Branch at Country Club on the City’s property. Ten trash bags were picked up along the water and in the woods.

Stormwater litter crew with bags of trash

03/04/2022 · Flag

An anonymous SeeClickFix user (Registered User)
Well this is a surprise! While I’m glad to see the trash cleaned up, I also know that Stormwater Manager immediately closed this click fix with NO intention of cleaning this up. Even reaffirmed on the requested phone call with Stormwater Manager to discuss “ongoing and future endeavors regarding litter control” which were nonexistent for THIS type reported trash problem. I am not sure what happened to change Stormwater’s mind but I’m glad it happened whatever it was. It caused them to ended up sending 9 Stormwater workers to do a job that is not Stormwater’s problem and initially had NO intention to clean this up.

Ultimately Stormwater cleaned it up which is a good thing. But why so much resistance about not cleaning it up from the beginning?

Maybe a little less resistance is in the horizon for future reported trash and litter issues?
03/05/2022 · Flag

And finally we get a change in Click ‘n’ Fix procedures:

Angela Bray (Verified Official)
All litter issues should be assigned to a City Marshal then they will determine who owns the property. I will make sure Public Works understands the process as well. We don’t have a litter crew; however, since it was on City property I didn’t want to wait for a decision to be made on which department would handle such issues. This will be determined by upper management and/or council for a future plan.
03/05/2022 · Flag

Those new procedures sound very promising.

To be sure I understood correctly, I called Angela Bray, Stormwater Manager, Stormwater Division of the Engineering Department, City of Valdosta. She confirmed that Click ‘n’ Fix litter tickets would go first to City Marshalls, who would decide where to send it from there.

Engineering Director and City Engineer Pat Collins was also on the phone, so I’m pretty sure I got that right.

I suspect that many litter tickets will end up getting sent to Stormwater. But as we’ve seen, Valdosta has excellent ordinances, so City Marshalls can cite property owners. Including they can cite upstream parking lot owners for letting trash get off their property, or for not having the appropriate number of trash cans per number of parking spaces. Hint: almost no parking lots in Valdosta have those trash cans. There’s a new Manager of the City Marshalls, Anetra Riley, Neighborhood Development and Community Protections Manager. She was introduced at the February 24th Valdosta City Council meeting.

New Neighborhood Development and Community Protections Manager, Anetra Riley

It’s not clear to me why it’s important whether the land with trash is owned by the city or not, except maybe to decide which department should deal with it.

And if the trash has washed downstream out of the city, as has happened on Sugar Creek, it’s still trash that came from Valdosta, so Valdosta should deal with it.

Trashjam Photo: Russell Allen McBride 2022-03-01, 15:59:07, 30.8634611, -83.3190472

At a minimum, Valdosta could forward the complaint to Lowndes County Code Enforcement, which has been known to get businesses to clean up their act and is now reviewing some new evidence on a different case.

Trash in water behind No Dumping sign, 09:32:04, 30.6406656, -83.1885083

But it’s not really clear to me why Lowndes County taypayers should pay to clean up trash that came from Valdosta.

It’s obvious where some of this stuff is coming from upstream.

Trash net, Cook Out, Zacadoo’s Photo: Russell Allen McBride 2022-02-26

Valdosta can ask those parking lot owners and fast food outlets to clean up their act. And if they won’t, Valdosta can cite and fine them.

Everyone please use Click ‘n’ Fix to report trash problems to help Valdosta clean them up.

 -jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

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