Jay continues its cleaning up efforts

Jay residents who have garbage, scrap metal, vehicles and other items of debris on their property will receive certified nuisance letters in an effort to clean up the town, as discussed at the Nov. 2 council meeting, when one resident approached the council about the increase in garbage fees.

A sample letter addressing the debris stated the owner had 60 days from the date of the letter to remove the excessive items. The owner also has the right to appeal the declaration of nuisance at a town council meeting. A list of addresses, owner names and violations showed addresses at Highway 4, McCurdy Drive, Williams Street, McCutchin Drive, Harrison Avenue, Hendricks Circle, Blackmon Drive, Divine Drive, Spring Street, Commerce Street, State Street, Hutto Lane, Clanton Street,Edeker Circle, McCutchin Vacant Lots and Highway 89.

Jay resident and businessman Larry Baxley approached the council about the rate of garbage fees and the possibility of making exceptions for almost any rule, including the increase in garbage fees.

“If I can show documented paperwork that I am taking care of my garbage, is that not what you are trying to accomplish?” said Baxley. “I've been doing it for years, I'm still doing it for years. There should be an exception.”

Councilwoman Nina Hendricks pointed out that the pricing the town got was because it was mandatory and that the price Jay has for twice a week garbage pick-up is about the same the rest of the county is paying for once a week.

“The long term goal for cleaning the town up is to make sure somebody would like to move into the town of Jay,” said Mayor Shon Owens. “You can't move into the town of Jay if the house is destroyed and the next door neighbor has a trailer with garbage on it.”

Owens said a lot of discussion took place that led to the decision to make the garbage service mandatory to take care of problems that were causing problems.

“We started evaluating what we've been seeing for 30 or 40 years,” said Owens. “We've sent that letter to the homeowner, we get the county involved, the county does what it can do. Then it's up to us to decide what to do. You end up picking your fights.”

The mayor pointed out that there are still people who have a well in the city limits who have never tied into the city system, which is mandatory.

“The real estate taxes are going down,” said Owens. “We will lose $12,000 to $15,000 in real estate tax revenue, every year, until we start seeing growth in the town.”

Owens said he compares what the utilities are in Jay to other utilities in Florida, and Jay's are much, much lower.

“We are battling something that has been a problem for the town of Jay because we have not put our foot down,” said Owens. “We are ripping band-aids off and it's not fun, but we want it to be better, to have a better way of life. We made that decision based on months of conversation so we did the best that we could.”

New garbage service

New garbage cans are expected to arrive in early December and Mayor Owens expressed concern about a past transition from one garbage service to another.

“The biggest concern is getting the cans in place,” said Owens. “I think we are ahead of the game by having the new company send them out ahead of time before the prior company picks theirs up.”

Town Operations Manager Eric Seib said he could request a test run to pick them up the week before, to make sure people dispose in the correct garbage receptacle.

“I think that's a good idea,” said Owens.

Resident Frank Gatlin, 3819 Highway 4 asked if everyone is required to pay the fee and have the new can.

Gatlin told the council he has one bag of trash a week that he burns it at a friend's house and that he hauls five 55-gallon drums to the dump for $7.50 twice a month and asked why he would have to pay the mandatory garbage fee for the new service beginning Jan. 1, 2021 he is not using.

“You can go in front of my building, it's spotless,” said Gatlin. “I'm wondering why I have to pay for a garbage can that I'm not using. I don't need it.”

Owens explained that the decision was made for the majority of the town, which do need the service.

Councilman Wayne Godwin said the town cannot exclude someone and compared it to not being able to put a water well inside the city limits, that people had to hook into the water and sewer system provided, its a requirement.

“The same rule applies to trash ordinance as it does water ordinance,” said Godwin. “You cannot exclude them.”

Gatlin said he paid $13 when he lived in New Orleans and Councilwoman Jane Hayes pointed out the difference in population of Jay and New Orleans. Gatlin said he felt the council was forcing him to pay a service he does not use in order to keep his water turned on and he thought that was not fair.

“The decision was made on behalf on the council for the greater good of the town,” said Councilwoman Hayes. “It's unfortunate that you got caught up in it, but the decision was made and I respect where you are coming from. I roll my trash can out once a week.”

Calfee Street Well #3

Seib told the council the recent cleaning and flushing the town performed to maintain the Calfee Street well No. 3 was successful, that it is now running 400 gallons per minute, close to what the original well put out in 1999. He said the general rule is when it gets to 30 percent decrease in capacity it should be flushed and cleaned. It will be used as a back-up well in case another goes down.

Street resurfacing

The town needs a resolution to establish a state-funded grant agreement with the Florida Department of Transportation for the town of Jay Roadway Improvement Project, which will fund the surface repaving of 10 streets in the town for $300,000. Seib said it is up to the town to prepare the roadsides.

In a motion made by Councilwoman Hendricks and seconded by Councilman Godwin, the motion carried.