Trash Still Idles In Woodbay On Weekends

Woodbay resident and voting member Gene McArthur stood up and addressed the board at the Westchase Community Association (WCA) meeting on March 10. 

As he did in the past, he repeated that some residents in Woodbay place their garbage out at the curbside on weekends before its pick-up time on Monday morning. A weekend inspector could help the problem.

But it didn't do much good.

The WCA directors voted 6 to 1 to oppose a motion for weekend inspections.

Hiring a weekend inspector would costs $4,500 per year, according to Joaquin Arrillaga, president of the WCA. 

But money wasn't the only detractor for the group.

According to board treasurer Mary Griffin, WCA  policy does not allow fining residents on the spot. 

Therefore, the violation would have already been corrected itself by the time the warning came in the mail, wasting the postage and administrator’s time. 

“When you don’t get them to pick up their dog poop around the community, we won’t get them to pick up their yard waste," she said at the board meeting. "You can't legislate and change people's behavior."

Westchase follows Hillsborough County Solid Waste Management Department regulation, which prohibits putting garbage outside for collection before 6 p.m. the day before pick-up. 

However residents in the Woodbay neighborhood have been placing recycle bins, garbage containers, and yard waste at the curb over the weekend before 6 p.m. Sunday, according to McArthur, who has lived in the neighborhood for a decade.

He spoke out about the issue at the February board meeting.

Although McArthur called the board's decision “disgraceful,” he does not think that Westchase should pick up the tab for a weekend inspector.

“Why should we paid for a county order to be enforced?” he said. 

His suggestions are simple. 

Residents should keep the trash behind their homes. Otherwise, the board should ask the county to intervene, relieving both itself and the community of a burden. 

The county’s policy is to launch an investigation if a complaint is filed, a customer representative at the Hillsborough County Solid Waste Management Department told Patch. 

WCA vice president Dyan Pithers, who opposed the motion, suggested residents call the county directly or talk to the neighbors.

“I think you just need to take responsibility for your neighborhood,” she said at the board meeting.