The idea was a solid one.
Offer the residents a free chance to shed all of the junk from their basements and properties by simply placing the items near the curb and along the alleys for pickup a few days before the official community clean-up day.
That’s exactly what Wheeling Councilman Ben Seidler arranged for the people living on Wheeling Island, but he was not certain of two things:
- First, whether or not the residents were listening;
- Second, if they would participate in the program.
“I’ll admit it. I was a little worried about whether people knew about the effort,” the Council representative said. “That’s why I spent last weekend going around the Island so I could talk to as many people as possible. I just wanted to make sure the word was spreading.
“And then, on Sunday, I started to see a lot of movement. I saw a lot of people cleaning out their garages and their basements. I even received messages from some residents that they were clearing out some of the abandoned homes because they were concerned about fire hazards,” Seidler said. “But Sunday afternoon, I was amazed. Not only did the residents know about the effort, they were participating.”
A New Era?
To say Seidler is thrilled with the results thus far would be an understatement.
During a brief interview during “Steve Novotney Lives” on Monday, the Council member proclaimed a “new beginning” for the residents of Wheeling Island.
“Seeing what I have seen since Sunday tells me that many of the people on the Island still have a lot of pride for where they live, and that’s been the best thing to see,” Seidler said. “Pride is one of the most important ingredients when it comes to safe and solid neighborhoods, so I think this clean-up effort may be the game changer we have all needed. What I hope is that this allows for the proud residents to stand up against the junk and the garbage in the future.
“I can’t thank the city manager (Bob Herron) and the public works director (Rusty Jebbia) enough for this effort,” he continued. “And I have to thank all of the city employees that came to Wheeling Island. There have been at least 50 of them working over here, and they have done incredible work. It’s what the people of Wheeling Island needed to see. They needed to see that city government is on their side, and that’s exactly what they saw.”
Saturday Clean-Up
The owners of Eden Family Restaurant will serve a free breakfast to volunteers at 7:30 a.m. Saturday morning, and then Abbey’s will offer a free lunch beginning at 11:30 a.m. Seidler expects many residents will continue improving the appearance of their own properties throughout the afternoon.
The piles of debris processed at Wheeling Island Marina Monday and Tuesday were impressive but also worrisome, according to Seidler.
“It’s just a little scary to know that all of that was either inside homes, garages, or in the yards,” the Council member said. “Our fire department always does a great job with delivering tips about fire prevention, and one of them is not collecting that much stuff inside your house. After seeing those piles, I’m not real sure how many people have been listening.
“But at least now we know that a lot of it is out of the houses and on its way to the landfill,” Seidler said. “After this massive effort on the part of the city, no one on the Island can use the excuse that they have no place for the trash and the debris. That’s what I heard during my campaign and since taking office, so I’m very happy to see so many get out and clean up their homes.”
In fact, Seidler feels this week-long clean-up effort could be something of a turning point.
“I’ve said it before; no one has the right to hurt their neighbor’s property values, and that’s not going to change,” he insisted. “And with new technology and new software coming to the property maintenance department, the process of informing property owners of violations soon will be streamlined instead of it being a cumbersome process.
“If there are people out there who always thought it would be great to live on Wheeling Island, they should start shopping now because not only is the negative stigma fading quickly, but right now you can get a lot of property for a little bit of money,” Seidler added. “It’s not going to be that way forever; trust me.”
