Is city cleanup a ‘forever’ topic?

“We’ve been having a lot of trouble with a lot of debris and junk ...” Alderwoman Connie Thibodeaux said at Tuesday’s Board of Aldermen’s meeting.
The cleanup problem worsened earlier this year as people stayed at home in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus, she said
“What we are going to do in the next coming months, we are going to try to all together come up with a plan that we can get everyone on board...” she said.
The point seemed to be more about the big stuff like sofas and old applicances that people put on the side of streets.
Thibodeaux read the city ordinance dealing with the subject and said people need to be educated about what can be picked up.
“We’ve got to get a handle on this,” she said.
When people need to get rid of large items, they should call Waste Connections at 337-942-1291 or 337-942-4031 to arrange a pickup, she said.
Mayor Scott Fontenot said, “It seems like we’ve been talking about this forever.”
Fontenot said the city is finally getting ahead of the issue.
“I believe the main thing is letting everyone know what they can and cannot do and what the city is going to pick up and what they are not going to pick up,” he said.
“People don’t realize they pay a dedicated tax already for garbage disposal, so tax money that funds city operations shouldn’t be funding the garbage disposal,” he said.
Fontenot said the parish Solid Waste Commission has been working with the city to reduce the amount of trash lining city streets.
“It is hurricane season and we can’t have debris just piled a mile high. We will work to notify everybody what to do. If you have an ice box to get picked up or you have a sofa,” he said.
“We are doing our best to keep it off the side of the road and sometimes we just can’t keep up, but it takes us away from cutting grass and filling potholes and drainage work and all the other things people want us to get done,” Fontenot said.
Fontenot said the city has the enforcement measures in place. People who leave trash on the side of the road other than the cans should expect the city to keep a record. The city eventually will fine repeat offenders, he said.
Thibodeaux said taking care of the trash is showing compassion for neighbors and the city.