CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A Nueces County commissioner has started a new clean-up project in his precinct.
One resident said it’s about time. Another said this will make Robstown look better
“Well, I think it’s great for the community, and it brings Robstown together and it’s really starting to clean up," said Lindsay Rodriguez, a Robstown resident. "And I think it’s great for Robstown. I think it will show our true colors.”
“When you have land owners who are not doing anything with their property or there’s questions as far as who owns the land, you can’t really pin down who owns it," said Commissioner John Marez. "That causes a lot of problems for responsibility.”
A resident noted, one reason people may be illegally dumping may be because they want to avoid any possible fees at trash collection sites.
To help the cause, Marez said the county has hired a third environmental enforcement officer.
“They are law enforcement officers as well," said Marez. "They write citations and can do everything law enforcement does. So, we need that component where as you look at city, typical city enforcement officers are not peace officers."
Marez said other parts of his precinct will have vacant lot clean ups in the future.
“Like a lot of neighborhoods, it’s just a few empty lots that could really bring down the neighborhoods or where you can create drug or crime problems," Marez said. "Or just where people who don’t have the effort or lazy to want to go and dump trash in a vacant lot, rather than take it to the dump.”
Marez also holds an event at least twice a year where people have a centralized dumping area for a short time.
"Well, I'm very proud to be from Robstown and I think that as Robstown cleans up, more people will get a second chance to overlook the rumors and what had been said in the past," Rodriguez said.
