Francine Wallace has appeared before the city council with the same concerns over unkempt properties near her home before. And with little to no action surrounding those concerns, she made another appearance before city leaders during its recent board meeting.
Wallace, who resides on Smith Street in Yazoo City, appeared before the Board of Mayor and Aldermen to discuss unkempt and overgrown lots near her home, poor drainage ditches and an abundance of litter and trash within the community.
“I have presented these issues before, some were of the exact same thing,” Wallace said, during the meeting’s public comment. “West of Lamar on Fifteenth Street, I am concerned with the aesthetics of that area. Another part of my concerns is about my own personal property.”
Wallace said the parcel located next to her property on Smith Street is “a junk yard” with debris, trash and standing water.
“My property is being negatively affected,” she said. “The property next door looks like a junk yard. There should be some ordinance concerning properties and they way they are allowed to appear.”
An empty concrete slab surrounded by trash and standing water is located next door to the Wallace home, almost completely up to the property line. Along the backside of adjacent property, a storage area is filled with random items, mostly disregarded.
Wallace also addressed a parcel along the backside of her property line that is overgrown with vegetation and brush.
“It is turning into an open wilderness,” Wallace said. “I have requested that a ditch be maintained there. The city, years ago, had to address that area because the Environmental Protection Agency came and told the city that the property that borders ours…the water drained over into our property, so the city cut a ditch. Over the years, the ditch has grown up with grass in it because it has not been maintained.”
Wallace said water continues to stand in the “supposed ditch.” She said repair attempts to the ditch in the past have not been successful. With the summer months, insects and mosquitoes, along with rodents and snakes are becoming a problem.
“The grass is not cut on a regular basis,” Wallace said, referring to the “wilderness” behind her home. “It has been cut one time since my last complaint. The grass is back up to my chin if I were to walk out there. This is very troubling because it affects my property value. I do not want to live in squalor. That is what I feel like I am having to do.”
Wallace also said the litter, trash and debris along Fifteenth Street has also become an issue.
“That is something we stress to our community, the aesthetics of it,” said Mayor David Starling. “Our community must change its mindset about keeping us clean or presenting the proper aesthetics, as you say. I wish you would champion the cause, and I would be the first here to support it.”
“Are these issues going to be addressed,” asked Wallace. “The grass, the trash, the water, the drainage, the junk yard…”
“They will be addressed to the best of our ability,” Starling replied.
