Medical ID tags offer peace of mind in an emergency

Marion resident has questions about property improvment

City performing upkeep on Flowers Trail site

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A Marion resident wants to know why the city is improving private property on Flowers Trail.

Tom Wall, who lives on East Surrey Trace and whose property backs up to Flowers Trail, asked the City Council why they are dumping waste material on a property owned by Richard Williford.

“You have turned it into a dump,” Wall said during the citizen’s concerns comment period. “That whole field is nothing but rutted up mud and you keep a bulldozer out there 24/7 and are improving a property for somebody else.

Can you all explain that?”

Wall said he used to call the building inspector several times a year because Williford wasn’t maintaining it and the weeds were tall.

Now, with the city dumping on the property, it has become even more of an eye sore.

What’s more, Wall told officials that people are speeding down the road and cutting through the gate which has rutted the road even worse than it usually is.

“I’d rather have the tall grass back in all honesty,” Wall said.

Road Department Supervisor Gordon Floyd said the city made a deal with Williford to dump brick, rock, concrete, leaves and chipped wood on the property which is saving the city about $80,000 a year in landfill fees.

The property was the site of an old borrow pit. Williford had previously been hauling material out to the site.

The city has been using it as a dumping site for about the last three years.

“It’s not trash,” Floyd said. “There is no pollution being dumped there. There is no junk being dumped there. The bulldozer stays out there all the time and we try and keep it cleaned up. The upkeep saves the city about $80,000. That $80,000 a year pays for speed bumps and stop signs and roads to be paved.”

Floyd agreed that the road is rutted, but said the city has hauled eight loads of gravel out there and tries to keep the road in good shape.

“We have made an attempt,” Floyd said. “Every time it dries up we take a box blade all the way down to the Flowers home and back up to try and keep it up the best we can. We can’t dress it up right now.

It’s too wet. But as soon as it dries up, we will dress it up.”

Mayor Frank Fogleman acknowledged that it was a unique situation for the city to be dumping on private land and improving the property in the process, but said he thought it was a good deal for the city.

“You make a point,” Fogleman said. “But I might add that this is with ADEQ’s blessing. We felt that it was a win-win deal.

It does improve his property. But it is permissible that we can do that with stuff we otherwise have to take to the landfill.”

As far as the ruts, Fogleman said he will make sure that the road is kept up.

“We want to keep it up,” Fogleman said.

Wall suggested that the city put up a private road sign to cut down on people using it.

“We have a lot of people fly down there,” Wall said. “There was a pick up truck that came down that road about 45 miles an hour.

That road wasn’t designed for that. Maybe we need a dead end or private drive sign.”

Fogleman said he had no problem putting up a sign to deter people from cutting through.

“I don’t see where that is a problem for us to put a sign up or put a post up that warns people it is a private drive.”

One Marion resident is scrutinizing the city’s work on a piece of privately-owned property near Hardin Village.

Images courtesy of Google Maps “I’ll get on it right away,” Floyd added.

Wall said while he is all for the city saving money, he doesn’t think Williford needs to be rewarded by the city improving his property. “I’m not here to yell or scream,” Wall said. “My concern is even though we are saving money, you’re improving someone’s land for free. This is someone who didn’t take care of his land to begin with, and now the city is saving money by being able to dump there.

There is no repercussion to him. He’s having his property improved. I’m not understanding how you are doing that for a private citizen.”

By Mark Randall