Garbage vs. Garden -- Who's Right? Mika Highsmith's on the Spot
POLISH VILLAGE, TOLEDO -- Eric Robertson takes pride in his backyard. He plants flowers and maintains his crops. He really enjoys his Polish Village neighborhood, reports News 11's Mika Highsmith.
"We love our backyard," Robertson says, proudly.
Too bad a city worker almost destroyed his beautiful oasis when she picked up his garbage about a week ago and threw it right over his fence, "without any regard to what was on the other side."
The Department of Neighborhoods is the department who got this whole affirmative action thing started with Griffin, Dougherty and Morehead. Sue Frederick was the manager that was identified as the person who abused an African American female by locking her in a file room and forbidding her to come out and even take a pee. It appears that Ms. Fredericks is on the loose again. This is the kind of person the City of Toledo doesn't need
This guy routinely throws garbage over his privacy fence where he doesn't have to look at it, but his neighbors do. His neighbors called to complain. When Sue arrived, two of them came across the street and asked, "Why does Carty let this happen?"
Some of the garbage had maggots in it. Some of it had flies trapped in the bag that had evolved from maggots. Other bags were building materials. Mr. Ericson was thrice visited by the Superintendent of Solid Waste and told where to put his garbage for pickup. He responded with hostility. He was sent a letter. He didn't care. He didn't have to look at or smell the garbage.
Sue did the guy a favor by returning the garbage from whence it came and not writing the guy a ticket. Mr. Ericson came downtown to complain. When it was pointed out to him that his garbage contained substantial amounts of building supplies and that he had not pulled a building permit, he left with his tail between his legs and purchased a building permit. Sue, being the forgiving type, didn't write him a ticket.
Mika doesn't want you to hear that side because then, she can't be the TV 11 Problem Solver because there is no problem. So, she elected to tell you just half the story.
Why aren
The reason was the health threat posed by the rotting garbage (the incident was on Monday and this guy's pickup day is Friday) was too great to simply assess a fine. Sue immediately eliminated the problem -- much to the relief and satisfaction of his neighbors.
This is what I mean about you being a chronic complainer. You send emails with photos complaining the city is not removing trash from here, there, and everywhere. Then you post that the city should have left garbage to rot and just cited the guy while his neighbors dealt with the stench and the rats.
You just like to complain.
Trying to address all issues raised?
Where is the departmental head in all of this?
Why does the Mayor's office have to be involved in matters that could be addressed by the departments that are in place to handle the affairs.
Why is there so management of situations from the Mayoral office and so little public comment from the departments involved.
http://toledoohioneighborhoodconcerns.com/blog
Good morning Captain.
Did you dream up that post last night? Are you as tired as I am?
As far as Mr. Ericson's neighbors are concerned, the city solved the problem creatively. We went through official channels and he behaved in a hostile manner. Sue throws his garbage back into his yard, where it belongs, and he is now complying with the solid waste rules.
Carty gets results! There are some happy neighbors on Bronson Place, but you care little for them.
Well at least we know how the garbage collectors get off being lazy. The supervisors lead by example.
Is Manager for the Division of Code Enforcement in the Neighborhoods Department.
The Neighborhoods Department typically would respond to a complaint, verify the complaint and remove the problem, in this case garbage, instead of tossing it back over a fence of which the logic is not understood.
The Neighborhoods Department has crews that could have removed the trash and fined the person, but Ms. Frederick's choose the noted actions.
http://toledoohioneighborhoodconcerns.com/blog
One should also take a close look at Sue Frederick....
There are many complaints about her, and she bears the reputation of Carty's "hit woman" by taking out Carty's vengeance by assessing petty fines - that's the word on the street.
Also, Sue Frederick is the reason Perlean Griffin is jobless. Sue is Carty's buddy. (She used to be in the refuse department and they hated her so she got moved to inspection.) Ms. Griffin recommended Sue be let go because it was in the best interests of the City and Carty let go of Ms. Griffin.
"Dear Ms. Page:
My name is Sue Frederick and I have been asked to respond to your recent inquiry regarding recent nuisance orders that were sent to you concerning the property conditions of 3123 Kimball.
Each area of the City is assigned to a general inspector in my Department. Inspector Dickerson has the census tract in which your property is located. My records indicate that several properties on Kimball have received nuisance orders in the past year similar to those received by you. It is most likely that Inspector Dickerson observed the nuisance conditions at your property while investigating other complaints.
Our street file for nuisance conditions in existence at 3123 Kimball goes back to 1974. I do note that you did not begin to receive nuisance orders until 1985. The 72-hour order you received is very similar to the one you received in June 2004. The orders request that you clean up any junk and debris on your property. Further, it will be necessary for you to cut the grass, brush and scrub trees, and board and secure the property. I note in your correspondence to the Mayor that you questioned whether your property was open at the time of the inspection. The pictures taken at the time of the inspection show the front inside door standing open and the storm door torn off from the frame. The structure appears to be open and unsecured.
The 30-day orders request that you repair overhangs on the house, repair/replace doors and gutters that are in a state of disrepair. Further the siding hanging off the house needs to be repaired. It will be necessary for you to scrape and paint the house or install siding. I do note that you received the same orders in 1991 regarding the gutters/downspouts and need to repaint. It appears that we did not follow through on the 1991 orders and accordingly, it was necessary to reissue same. Certainly you can request an extension of time in which to comply with the structural repairs.
In closing, over the years we have accumulated approximately 80,000 nuisance files for properties in the City of Toledo. We receive anywhere from 500 to 1500 citizen complaints every month, most of which concern nuisance properties in the city. We do not target property owners for their political views. Finally, Tyree worked as a student intern with this Department in the fall of 2006. He is in no way responsible for the nuisance orders that you received. Rather, it appears from the file that the aforementioned conditions were observed by the inspector while out in the field.
Thank you for contacting the City with your concerns.
Sue Frederick"
=============================
I received this after getting a Nuisance Complaint from the City. I had talked to the inspector and others and could not get an explanation as I had no idea what they were referring to. What had happened was that they had the wrong address. This saga went on for about a week. It seemed to me that I was being targeted because of my political views.
Ms. Frederick did eventually offer a half hearted apoplogy but the inspector (who issued the complaint)Dickerson had hung up the telephone on me and was very rude and disorderly.
It would seem to me that Ms. Frederick has some serious issues that need to be addressed.
After Dickerson issued the order and I started the process of finding out what in the ......they were talking about no on bothered to come out and look at my address, even though I was calling and complaining about the complaint!!
This seems to be the problem. I contacted Ms. Fredericks by e-mail, and she sent a cc: to me while forwarding my complaint to the person responsible. That was about a week ago. It involved two properties (one in the 400 block of Langdon, and one on the 500 block of Chapin Street).
Both properties have lawns over three feet high. The one property on Chapin Street is owned by some civic organization. I will give the city about a month, and then send another request for relief. Or maybe I should buy a stronger weed whacker, and do the job myself. It seems these amatuer "capitalists" need all the help they can get. I certainly can't expect the city government to do everything. Those workers have to take a break sometime.
Yes, they sure are.
Many lots I have made the Neighborhoods Department aware of have lots with sometimes waist high grass and the same goes for commercial lots, those that are for sale.
The owners need to be held responsible and when they get the statement for the lawn mowing by the city that usually motivates them to mow the grass.
http://toledoohioneighborhoodconcerns.com/blog
Toledo's government is a "service" organization. It "services" the public (rather like a bull "services" a cow).
It responds to complaints, and then returns to sleep. If a neighborhood has no complainers, everyone is left pretty much alone. If there are complaints they are dealt with (even if the person complained about is innocent, or unaware of his/her infraction). I can see where Mr. Robertson has a complaint, and I can see where he does question why the city does what it does.
Pictures of garbage on back of porches and in back yards give the impression of scofflaws when it is people trying to live the best they can with what they have. It would be better if neighbors had the balls to confront one another, but sometimes it is easier to deal through government.
When I see grass growing three foot high in a empty lot, and the owners are from the West side of town, or out in Ottawa Hills it does gripe me. So then I call the city when a couple of other neighbors complain to me about it.
But this is a reason probably taxes are more than we wish to pay. Absentee landlords buy property in older parts of town, and don't maintain it. And the city or county doesn't hold them accountable. But that's "free enterprise".
The right move was for Sue Fredericks to issue the citation, not perform an act of revenge.
This vigilanteism is what got her in trouble with abusing the African American female. Sounds like Ms. Fredericks consistently demonstrates poor judgment and needs to be assigned to a different function.
All the fuss and complaints about trash being set out and the administration puts in place rules and procedures and fines and then in this case fails to access the fines.
"Sue did the guy a favor by returning the garbage from whence it came and not writing the guy a ticket."
She is alleged to have thrown up and over the fence. If true, this is neither professional or wise.
When I was on a Board of Health and enforced these matters, the homeowner or landowner cleaned the mess as they failed to follow the rules. We did not move the trash or handle it, we did supervise and then follow up to make sure that the problem was resolved.
What is the point of having policies in place then doing a person a favor who has been visited three times, three times and no fine.
http://toledoohioneighborhoodconcerns.com/blog
"The reason was the health threat posed by the rotting garbage (the incident was on Monday and this guy's pickup day is Friday) was too great to simply assess a fine"
Sure there was a health threat and that negates a fine? The trash could not have been taken care and then fine the person?
"Then you post that the city should have left garbage to rot and just cited the guy while his neighbors dealt with the stench and the rats."
Please when did I state that?
The trash should have been picked up and the person fined as has been the case before.
The city departments have picked up trash when complaints have been filed before, have they not.
"You just like to complain."
And the Mayor has encouraged me to keep sending in the "complaints."
By the way, Mr. Schwartz, the latest e-mailed photo's are of an apartment building when the trash bags have been set out on the ground for some many weeks that I forget the exact number of weeks.
So, does a person, who cares about his community continue enough to make people aware after a reasonable period of time has passed or does the person just sit and let the situation continue.
Where are the inspectors Mr. Schwartz...dare I say bus stop on Cherry Street that is a littered mess week, after week, after week.
And wasn't it William Franklin that made a statement that the citizens are not going to put trash out early and escape fines?
And why is it that the Mayor's spokesperson has to defend the actions of a member of the Neighborhoods Department manager?
http://toledoohioneighborhoodconcerns.com/blog
...if the garbage was such a health issue, how did moving it from one side of the fence to the other (throwing it back into the owner's yard) eliminate the health problem? Seems to me that all it did was remove the problem from the sight of the neighbors...
Well, actually, does it not belong in trash cans?
Health and all.
http://toledoohioneighborhoodconcerns.com/blog
-- When Sue arrived, two of them came across the street and asked, "Why does Carty let this happen?"
The lobotomy is complete: It's All Carty All The Time.
Not the system. Not the moron with apparent racial issues who takes the law into her own hands - and is then portrayed by BS as compassionate, merciful, "doing the guy a favor" instead of obeying the law she is paid to enforce by issuing the proper citation(s). The afternoon guy on WSPD had the perfect word for it the other day: kakistocracy.
--Some of the garbage had maggots in it. Some of it had flies trapped in the bag that had evolved from maggots.
WOW! The Summa Cum Laude PIO guy has discovered EVOLUTION in a garbage bag! Well that settles it! Quick - somebody notify TPS before school starts!
Kakistocracy indeed. The Brain Drain is complete.
The garbage should have been removed and the citizen who caused the problem brought up on charges of littering and fined. The result Sue Fredericks obtained was : Happy neighbors, odors and disease still present, possible property damage. I guess one good thing out of three is okay with you.
eewww!!!
First of all my name is not Mr. Ericson. It's Mr. Robertson. Which tells me right from the start that you do not know what the facts are. Ms. Frederick has commmitted yet ANOTHER violation of the city code that she gets paid to enforce, as well as committed several misdemeanor crimes in the process. If she would have followed the cities policies that are in place, this whole deal would not be an issue.
From the top:
We HAVE NEVER thrown our trash "over the fence" as Mr. Schwartz states. It has always been put out according to city regulations. The neighbors would have only had to look at it for one night if the city would have handled the situation correctly.
We were NOT notified in writing. I would like to see a copy of that "letter."
We were told by the previous Super. of Solid Waste, Ron Lazur, who visited us the first time, that because we did not have drive access in Bronson, that we should be putting our trash out on Central. He was the ONLY Superintendent that made a visit. A Dept. of Solid Waste employee was sent out to talk to us, and after explaining the situation to him, he said that he would go back and explain it to Monroe, the current Super. of Solid Waste. We DID NOT hear from, OR see Monroe after that. He never made a personal visit. Monroe never told us that we couldn't put our trash out on Central until after we contacted him on Friday 7/6 because our trash was not collected.
Just because neighbors complain does not mean that we should not have our trash collected where we were told to put it.
The location of the trash was NOT at the curb as Ms. Frederick's photos prove. We brought it back up to OUR fence next to our garage because the the current Super. told us to remove it from the curb or we could be fined. We did that. The trash was on our property. We had to store it because the city didn't pick it up even though the trucks drive right by it! Please tell us... where is it defined where trash can be stored? As others have stated, throwing it over the fence did not solve the problem, only created more problems for the city. In the process, personal property was damaged without ANY regard to what was on the other side. Ms. Frederick is lucky she is not being held liable for personal injury or even death from the from the cement block she took the time to pull out from under our fence and throw over into our garden at least 10'.
On the day that Ms. Frederick committed this act of vengeance, I was home at the time. In the amount of time that it took her and another city worker to drive out, take photos, and throw 6 bags and 4 cans over our fence, she could have just called, or better yet, drove around into Bronson and payed me a visit; OR even followed city policy and given me the damn ticket! Please, STOP doing the residents of the City of Toledo these types of favors!
I can't believe that Ms. Frederick and HER neighbors would like the city to treat them in this unprofessional manner. By the way I was treated by Ms. Frederick at One Government Center, I can't imagine the city would endorse this kind of behavior from a city employee that should set an example of how to treat residents. The Dept. of Neighborhoods, especially, should be ashamed.
My initial reason for going to One Gov. Center was to meet with Katie Bond, but was told she would be back in the office soon. I waited. In the meantime someone contacted Ms. Frederick and she barged into the office and addressed me as "Are you 7 Bronson?" Not even knowing or asking my name. She was rude and very short with me. I think she needs some classes on good manners and public relations. At the table, Ms. Frederick admitted to causing the damage, and attempted to intimidate me by having a city inspector present. In her words; "...if you don't like it, file a suit.." I think that is the most irresponsible comment a city worker could make. Encouraging residents to cost the city much needed money through lawsuits. Apparently she also needs to take lessons on what exactly "wallboard" is, as there was no wallboard in our trash.
I ended the meeting disgusted with the way I was treated. I even commented to Ms. F. about the way she was speaking to me. In my profession, I would have easily been out of a job by now. I told her that we are willing to comply with the Dept. of Solid Waste's request to place our trash in Bronson. I DID NOT leave with my "tail between my legs" as Mr. S. states. I told Ms. F. that the issue of where the trash will be collected is settled..... BUT what Mr. S. was not informed of was that I also told her that the issue of what she did to our property was not over. If Mr. S. would have bothered to respond to my emails and calls, he would have seen that I walked out with my tail-a-waggin high!
If our neighbors were more neighborly, and asked us to move the trash, we would have been more than willing to do so. "Hostility" is the way Ms. F. treated me. I NEVER acted hostile toward any person. My intentions were to get to the bottom of who was responsible for the damage to our property.
Another fact that Mr S. is ignorant of, is that I did not purchase a building permit. What was in our trash had nothing to do with the issue at hand... which was the actions of Ms. F. and the way the City's administration allows this kind of behavior to continiue. If Carty is so concerned about "brain drain"... I think it's more about how the residents of the city are being treated and not made to feel welcome. Mr. S. has no idea what was in our trash.. and is making false statements on the behalf of the Mayors office. Mr. S. is also guilty of making ignorant comments about someone that he has never met or talked to; which I think could be considered slanderous.
Ms. F. is the least forgiving person I have met. She might as well be the next co-host of The View. As for Mr. S., if you would have taken two minutes to return my calls or emails, you would not yet again have misrepresented the City of Toledo. I thank Mika Highsmith for taking the time that the City did not, to address what obviously should be a large concern for the City of Toledo and the Mayors office.
Again, BS is misinformed, and is not even aware of which neighbors are complaining. They are not in Bronson Place. Our neighbors in Bronson have been very supportive. We in Bronson are very proud of our neighborhood and it shows.
Hostile,
a. antagonistic; of an enemy or like an enemy; unfriendly; forebidding.-ly,adv.
Please tell me specifically when my "hostile" behavior actually occured.... I missed it.
Our trash does not belong on top of several plants and pieces of pottery breaking them. This was not a "creative" or appropriate solution. What if the fence was not there and we stored our trash in view of the neighbors? Would they get the same response from complaints about that? How far does our trash have to be stored onto our property? We moved it up away from the curb. I've been looking for those regulations... have not found any.
Take a look down Central toward Cherry... trash cans line the driveways in plain view. I doubt SF is going to take the time to throw all of them back into their yard without regard to where or what it lands on.
The only reason we are complying with the request to place our trash for collection in Bronson is because it is the right thing to do now that it has been finally made clear, but still not in writing. NOT because of SF's actions. We would have complied sooner if the Dept. of Solid Waste/Neighborhoods had followed proper procedure.
Are you saying that Carty is behind all of this??? Carty gets results??? Are these the kind of results he wants for the city??? Is he even aware of what took place???
Just for our records, could you please send us a copy of the letter that was sent? It would be interesting to finally have some communication from the city in writing.
Good point, Maggie. The people who are running the City of Toledo appear to be extremely flawed and vindictive. If the City of Toledo continues to allow employees to behave in this manner there will be many more law suits against the City. It appears there are people who forget we live in a Democracy, not under National Socialism.
With the possibility of a nine figure lawsuit against the City, why does Czarty continue to protect people who lie about their residency, leave employees helplessly abandoned at construction sites to possibly be killed by active construction equipment, lock employees in file rooms and refuse to let them out to go to the bathroom, allow high level officials to come to work drunk, allow a bar tender to head up the HR functions, etc., etc.. etc.. I don't know about you, Maggie, but I'm shitin in my pants.
...not only fall on deaf ears, but to be dismissed as another "complainer".
I really hope the anger in this community of how these lucky administrators have taken their jobs for granted that they are "above" us creates such a nightmare for all politicans, these people need to see what they're doing to their community. I think the trend of this bullying, from Fredrick to Pruss to Finkbeiner, just off the top of my head, I know there are others, there has to come a time where enough is enough and it really is time to make some changes.
The anger, animosity, frustration and the lies aren't helping a thing. Oh the nazi's are going to create such a drama, with the Fairgrounds/Recall debacle, The LCDP debacle, the Carty/FedEx debacle, and now the Robertson/Fredrick debacle. To have a citizen even being treated remotely like shit is unacceptable, let alone dismissed as insignificant after trashing the citizen's property, the pure gall just cracks me up.
...I hope Mr Robertson gets a bill for Ms. Fredrick's efforts at his property.
That is the MO of some of the city professionals, not all, just some.
Sometimes instead of handling the problem correctly they over reach and over react and when citizens call them on it, well then the bluster starts.
http://toledoohioneighborhoodconcerns.com/blog
The City employees who actually tried to work professionally with citizens were either fired or demoted. I was told of an incident where a citizen called in about the condition and rat infestation of the house next door. Instead of solving the problem the department of Neighborhoods sent a letter to the complaining citizen saying that the complaining citizen had 14 days to clean up the neighboring property or the city was going to fine them. An employee from the city who was not in the Department of Neighborhoods helped the citizens, but the city employee was later fired for actions such as this and for being persistent that City supervisors follow safety practices.
The City appears to reward employees like Sue Frederick and chastises employee who actually help citizens. Is there something wrong with this picture?