Friday, February 23, 2001
Friday, February 23, 2001 |
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Lenox: When it comes to cart path trash, 'the enemy is us'
By JOHN
MUNFORD
Fed up with seeing litter along the city's 80-plus-mile system of golf cart paths, Peachtree City resident Bill Aleshire wants the City Council to do something about the problem. Much of the litter along the paths comes in the form of fast food wrappers and drink cups, Aleshire told council last week. He suggested the city could implement a 25-cent tax on each item sold through the drive-through at local restaurants to help pay for the city employees who clean up the litter on the cart paths. Several council members immediately balked at that idea, wary of holding restaurants responsible for the carelessness of regular citizens. Colin Halterman, city public services director, said two full-time employees pick up the litter along the paths. The restaurants have also been helping keep the paths clean in their areas, he added. Plenty of trash receptacles are scattered throughout the path system for disposal of waste, Halterman said. Sometimes, however, the cans are subject to vandalism and are thrown in the lakes where they must be retrieved, he added. Mayor Bob Lenox said the issue has come up before several times and he once wanted to allow citizens to issue "tickets" to violators before the police chief talked him out of it. "Unfortunately, it's the good citizens who have to pick up the slack," said councilwoman Annie McMenamin. She suggested that a person cited for littering highlighted in the local newspapers would help get people's attention and discourage them from littering. "Annie makes a good point; when there's litter on our cart path system, the enemy is us," Lenox explained. Councilwoman Carol Fritz suggested using the school system to educate young children about the problems litter causes. Councilman Dan Tennant joked that someone could start a "golden ticket" litter campaign, placing a coupon that could be exchanged for cash in a piece of litter on the path system, encouraging residents to pick up after each other. Council took no official action on Aleshire's request.
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