Lack Of Money Cuts Off Cleanup Funding For Trash Pickup Runs Out In One Day

The flier sent to Chief Garry Park residents touted a weekend neighborhood cleanup.

It failed to mention the cleanup would last only as long as the money did.

“We had no money left on Sunday,” said Jerry Shoemaker, president of the neighborhood’s steering committee. “We goofed up on the flier.”

Because the flier wasn’t clear, about 100 people who showed up on day two of the weekend went away frustrated after reading a sign that said the free pickup was over.

The city of Spokane recently gave 19 neighborhoods $5,000 each to pay tipping fees and salaries of solid waste employees for a community-wide cleanup.

Last weekend’s efforts in Chief Garry Park were so successful, all the money was spent in one day, Shoemaker said.

Couches, trees, television sets, microwaves and kitchen sinks flooded Fire Station 8’s parking lot near Spokane Community College.

On Sunday, Shoemaker put a sign at the entrance to the parking lot explaining why the cleanup was over. He said he watched from afar as about 100 pickup loads entered the parking lot.

Many of the drivers looked disgusted when they left, Shoemaker said, adding he’s heard that several neighbors are angry about the twoday cleanup that shrunk to one. “The people complaining didn’t come to the (planning) meetings,” he said. “There’s just a real small group of us that get involved.”

, DataTimes