LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — The only thing piled higher than the trash on Tim Hollingsworth’s street is his level of frustration with it.
“It’s a constant nuisance with the property over there. They’re constantly putting stuff out,” he said of the apartment full of items that belong to a tenant who’d been evicted recently.
Tim lives on Michigan Street across from the Lincoln Terrace Apartments, where owner Ron Johnson tells LEX 18 that it is very costly to remove the trash once someone does this. And the city isn’t responsible for its removal when collecting the bins. Eventually, it’ll cost Johnson in more ways than one.
“I’ve got to show an apartment here in a few minutes. They probably won’t show up because of this, so, unfortunately, it limits my income too,” he said.
This pile outside the Lincoln Terrace property has only been here for one day. Across town on Cornerstone Drive, residents have been looking at an even bigger mess for weeks.
“That’s been there, basically, since before Labor Day,” Laticha Cameron said while on a break from work.
She’s concerned, as are Tim and Ron, about the health hazard these trash piles can present. Not to mention the odor the perishable items will give off.
“The guy that came out and was going to clean it up yesterday said there’s bed bug and roaches in there,” Cameron explained. “And that was my fear because we’ve got kids who play out there a lot,” she continued.
Johnson said in situations like this, as it pertains to evictions, the Constables will often come with loader boxes to haul away these items, but that hasn’t happened yet in either location. He said just calling for a dumpster every time this happens is a $500-$1,000 expense that the landlord or property owner has to absorb.
