Dear Editor
“It would appear that garbage being dumped in the back alleys behind residential property is beginning to rise again.” The words spoken by Stewart Schaefer are not lies. Pollution is one of the biggest problems our planet must face and it's only because of us. In fact, in 2021, around 86 per cent of Canadians live in areas where pollution is rising. The cause of garbage being thrown randomly in places is not specific.
The City of North Battleford has been sending out notices of garbage or objects in the back alleys outside of property-owners’ fences. Once it is seen there are objects, a notice is sent with a warning of a fine to pay if the object is not removed. Objects in the back alleys are the least of concerns in North Battleford. What other cities would have four community safety officers and three RCMP members arrest two men who were just sitting outside of the public library? It's more than obvious that after this event happened in 2018 there was something definitely wrong with our city.
The city is worried about a table that was standing against our fence. They were willing to fine us if we did not remove it. For those of you that have not received a notice, you might be thinking a fine of $30 to maybe $50. No. The fines start at $100 dollars and go up to $10,000. For a table in the back alley. Now here's where I'm confused. Why do they even think it's our table?
People could be at risk of being fined hundreds of dollars for something that was put up against their fence that doesn't even belong to them, and yet the property owner is still being held responsible and must properly dispose of someone else's trash. How does this make any sense whatsoever?
I strongly think this is just another way for the city to get some good hard cash to pay for these safety officers who are driving around trying to look like they actually know what they are doing. Instead of the city having high-paid employees to check on the condition of our back alleys, they should take a look at the houses that are boarded up, the fences that are falling down and the yards full of old vehicles with grass and weeds growing around them. Now there are eye sores, but they waste their time with a table in the back alley.
Whoever made this a top priority is in the wrong position. If that's all it takes, I am going to apply for that job with no experience needed. I believe it is foolish when the city has workers go out one day to fill the cracks in the streets with sand and gravel and a few days later the sweeper comes along and sweeps it all away. Goodbye, taxpayers’ money. Also, I don't see why the back alleys are such a concern when the real streets that people actually drive on every day and night are being torn apart and then left in a mess. Well, at least they put some sand in the holes to make it easier to drive on. That makes just as much sense as watching our back alleys being graded instead of our streets which are actually the problem.
It seems that instead of giving notices to the people whose back alleys look like they haven't been cleaned in several months, the city is giving notices to the people who make an actual and noticeable effort to look after their places. Instead of placing fines on people to get money to fix the city's problems, why can't they just take responsibility when they mess up our city with the decisions they choose to make Why do we have to look after the city while they sit on their butts in meetings instead of looking after the problems in a reasonable way? Why are the residents of North Battleford being targeted?
Gerald Gratton
North Battleford
