Mayor Kathy Taylor Urges Tulsans To Cleanup Their Neighborhoods

Friday, July 27th 2007, 5:00 pm

By: News On 6

Tulsa's mayor wants to make quick work of litter pickup, but create a lasting campaign to keep it going. The News On 6â€™s Emory Bryan reports the kickoff is designed to be just an hour long, to show people they can make a real difference for the city in just a short amount of time.

Jerry Brock was doing his part without anyone asking. He and his son keep the grass mowed and the trash picked up at the Southwest Church of the Nazarene.

â€œIt kind of got out of hand this year because of all the rain we've had,â€ volunteer Jerry Brock said.

Brock stepped in to make sure the job was done, and that's the kind of volunteer spirit the mayor hopes to use to keep mowing and start cleaning up Tulsa.

"It takes a community to keep the community clean and looking good," said Tulsa Mayor Kathy Taylor.

High grass has been a problem all over the city, but especially in the public right of way. It makes the litter that people throw out even more visible. The city is catching up on the mowing, and now the city wants people to spend at least one hour cleaning up their neighborhoods next Saturday.

While the city is encouraging volunteers to clean up the trash and mow the grass, it's also planning to crack down on areas of high grass, that take away from otherwise nice neighborhoods.

"We'll be instituting much more severe fines for absentee landlords who have multiple properties that they fail to keep up, and use the city as a mowing service, we need those people to sell them or maintain them like their neighbors do," Mayor Taylor said.

Jerry Brock admits the job seemed to grow once he took it on, but says he and his family are proof that a little volunteer labor goes a long way.

The city has set up six locations for people to gather for a group effort, but they can also direct people to other places that need cleaning up. The first event will be held Saturday, August 4th from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. The six staging areas are:

Johnson Park, 61st and Riverside Drive, people at this location will clean up the area of 61st Street from Riverside Drive to Peoria.

Howard Park, 2510 Southwest Boulevard, volunteers will pick up the area from the park to 41st West Avenue.

Sonic Drive-In, 1600 N. Peoria, people will clean up on Peoria from Pine to Mohawk.

Gilcrease School, 5500 N. Cincinnati, at this location volunteers will pick up trash on North Cincinnati from 46th Street North to 56th Street North.

3624 N. 74th E. Avenue, Port Road from Sheridan to Mingo will be cleaned up at this location.

900 S. Mingo, here crews will pickup litter at Mingo Channel from Admiral to 11th Street.

To report problems in your neighborhood with high grass and litter, that homeowners or businesses should be handling, call the mayor's action center at 596-2100.

Watch the video: 60 Minute Makeover For Tulsa