Sophomore Report Back Albany, Georgia February 20-21, 2017 Welcome!
GICH Georgia Initiative for Community Housing to RICH Rockmart Initiative Community Housing Renew. Restore. Respect.
DID YOU KNOW? In 2005 the Georgia Department of Transportation spent $14 MILLION DOLLARS removing litter from the highways and local agencies spent and additional $6 million dollars removing litter from local roads. That s a lot! Did you know that garbage and poorly maintained yards lead to an increase in neighborhood crime? Rethink Rockmart is hosting our second Rockmart Community Cleanup Day, Saturday, April 22, 2017. Team Up to Clean Up and help make our city a safer and more beautiful place to live!
Financial Impact of Litter: US spends $11 billion dollars annually to remove litter on highways; 10 times more than the cost of trash disposal Georgia spends $90 million annually in litter removal from highways Estimated cost of litter pick up is 30 cents per piece of litter Litter reproduces property values Littered areas result in decreased tourism and decreased associated revenue Thousands of accidents across the United States are litter-related, causing insurance rates to rise.
Neighborhood Crime: Heavily littered neighborhoods experience more vandalism and other crimes The perception is that residents don t care about what happens in their neighborhood making the neighborhood more vulnerable Littered places attract more litter People feel safer in a clean neighborhood vs. a littered one
Other Facts: 60% of deliberate littering is done by pedestrians and 40% is done by motorists The most commonly found items during roadside clean ups are cigarette butts, fast food wrappers and aluminum cans Littering is AGAINST THE LAW. Anyone caught littering in Georgia can be ordered to pay a fine of $100 to $1,000. People who litter can also be ordered to clean up the littered area.
How We Can Help: Keep trash bag in your vehicle to store garbage and dispose of the bag in a covered trash bin. Remove loose trash from the bed of a pickup truck. Secure a load using tarps and straps to prevent items from blowing out the pickup bed. Never throw a cigarette butt on the ground. Don t throw food (apple cores, banana peels, etc.) out the window. Animals are attracted to the scent and can cause accidents when crossing the road. Pick up litter in your neighborhood.
Accomplishments to date are as follows: Adopting the Urban Renewal Redevelopment Plan Enacting Abandoned Property an Blight ordinances Enforcing codes more consistently and utilizing Municipal Court to ensure compliance Conducting community impact days to pick up litter and beautify the revitalization efforts Conducting community information meeting and public hearing Collaborating with Keep Polk Beautiful and Habitat for humanity s A Brush with Kindness program Applying for and being selected for GICH program Creation of GICH Team and committees on Code Enforcement, Community Engagement and Grants/Land Banks Working with Polk County Commission, School Superintendent and Tax Commissioner to create/implement Polk County Land Bank
Accomplishments to date are as follows: Partnering with Habitat for Humanity Coosa Valley to implement the A Brush with Kindness program and developing volunteers for home building Communicating with builders/developers about our revitalization plan to develop interest in acquisition, rehabbing and/or building new quality, affordable single family homes in the revitalization area Working with Rockmart City Public Works to maintain rights of way and streets in the revitalization area Utilizing local press and social media to promote our vision, goals and successes Communicating with owners of abandoned property to determine interest in selling property Completing process to demolish abandoned home (3) and having additional two (2) torn down voluntarily
Before and After
Before and After
Before and After
Houses to be Demolished
THANK YOU! Renew. Restore. Respect.