City enforcers prompt plenty of trash talkin'.

Byline: Dianne Williamson

COLUMN: DIANNE WILLIAMSON

As Worcesterites face a hot, steamy day, already confronting myriad annoyances such as insect infestation, pool closings, lack of stimulus money and the ever-present threat of tax hikes, I thought I'd let a couple of residents cork off about two irritating - albeit relatively minor - beefs with city services.

Janice E. Lagace has a problem with the city's trash collection policies after her elderly parents, who live on Planation Street, received a notice from the Department of Public Works.

According to a city "nuisance inspector," Ms. Lagace's parents violated Chapter 4, Section 6, of the city's general revised ordinances.

"Curbside Violation," the inspector wrote. "1 City Bag Put Out Early."

He proceeded to lay down the law. "No solid waste shall be placed at curbside earlier than 6 a.m. or later than 7:30 a.m. on the day of collection. Solid waste bags must be in place prior to arrival of the collection trucks ... Failure to comply with this warning will result in the department proceeding with non-criminal ticketing as specified in General Laws," section blah blah blah.

Ms. Lagace was perplexed.

"They state that the trash bags cannot be placed curbside any earlier than 6 a.m. and no later than 7:30 a.m.," she wrote. "As my parents are in the mid to late 70s, they prefer to put it out at night and sleep past 7:30. They have no reason to be up that early. On this particular date, they actually traveled for the weekend and left on Thursday evening. That left them no opportunity to rush it to the curb on Friday morning."

She questioned how much it costs to pay these nuisance sleuths to scour the city for non-compliant trash.

"With all of the city nuisances that occur on a daily basis (my personal favorite being cars blasting music that I would never listen to, if given the choice), I find this one rather laughable ... At the age of 77, I don't think my dad should have to set his alarm to take out the trash."

I don't, either.

E.J. Reeks of Pilgrim Avenue is also miffed at the DPW's enforcement practices. He said he was recently hosting a birthday dinner for his wife at their home when a DPW truck pulled up, so he went outside to see if there was a problem.

"I was greeted by a gentleman who identified himself as the supervisor of the parking enforcement division, who then asked about a car that was parked on the street in front of my driveway," Mr. Reeks wrote. "I explained that it belonged to a friend who was having dinner with us. He told me the vehicle would have to be moved or he would ticket the car for blocking a driveway.

"I explained that it was my driveway and that I told him to park there. He informed me that whether I own the house or not, neither I nor anyone else has the right to block MY driveway, including me.

"So now the question begs to be asked. What bureaucrat came up with this city ordinance as a way to raise revenue? Since when is it a crime to park in front of one's own property, including a driveway? I assume that the streets of Worcester are free of drug dealers, hookers, petty thieves, etc., so now we can use our limited resources paying salaries, benefits, insurance and gas for people to drive around hunting down such dangerous lawbreakers as `illegal' parkers."

Robert Moylan Jr., DPW commissioner, indicated that both residents were in clear violation of city ordinance, but he indicated that discretion may have been used. Regarding trash collection, he said the ordinance is in place to cut down on litter caused by animals or wind when the bags are put out too early.

"We aren't going to be there with a stopwatch, but you can be cited," he said. However, people with legitimate hardships such as age and disability should contact the DPW.

As for the man blocking his friend's driveway, Mr. Moylan channeled the GatesGate incident. "Both parties probably could have handled it better," he said. "Perhaps our guy could have given people a little bit of forbearance. Perhaps we could have tried to be a little more accommodating."

I wonder if Mr. Moylan will invite both men for a beer at DPW headquarters.