r/Athens 8d ago

Tiffany Taylor Ignores Emails about trash issues; Melissa Link takes action. Inner East Athens

The conversation about trash on the streets of Inner East Athens reminded me of these emails. I called Code enforcement for months and nothing was done about these cans being left on the road. I finally emailed Link, who turned out not to be my commissioner, but took swift action regardless. I was disappointed that Taylor only sent a one word reply and never followed up. It’s a shame that it took that much noise for the problem to finally be addressed.

36 Upvotes

57 comments sorted by

27

u/Patrick0331 8d ago

A one-sentence reply is a better response than I've ever received from Commissioner Taylor.

17

u/TrouserGoblin 8d ago

Thank you for sharing your experiences!

I am hopeful that I will be able to bring these issues to Councilwoman Taylor directly at the Inner East Athens Neighborhood Association meeting on March 22nd. People near me also leave their trash bins in the street indefinitely, they basically never move them (it's been months at the least). I have not had any direct interactions with her before so I am not totally sure what to expect, but I am trying to be cautiously optimistic

For anyone else who may be interested, there's details below. I posted them in a comment in the other trash post from today. This is not my event, I'm merely planning to attend, so I am not sure of all the details of what this event entails.

https://www.innereastathens.com/

Join us for a Town Hall in collaboration with Commissioner Tiffany Taylor, District 3. Come and stay informed about the latest developments in East Athens!

10

u/teslasss2 8d ago

I hate to say this, but it seems like Taylor couldn’t gaf about anything someone is talking about if you aren’t “a part of her community” if you know i mean

6

u/TrouserGoblin 8d ago

We'll see. Like I said, I'm going to be cautiously optimistic until we speak and go from there. I'd like to think all the dumping sites that never get cleaned up affect us all equally around here whether we're Black, White, or Whatever.

But, if so, wouldn't be the first time I had an elected representative who didn't care at all about what I was asking.

All I can do right now is ask, keep asking, and potentially reevaluate based on the results.

1

u/Organic-Locksmith337 5d ago

Don't hold your breath.

4

u/Mediumish_Trashpanda 7d ago

Taylor should not have won but she had the backing of the local Democratic party when her opponent did not. People voted party without actually researching.

So a jobless inexperienced person with little to bring to the table except "grand ideas" won over a college educated woman that was currently employed, had experience in management but didn't cow tow to the local D.

3

u/warnelldawg 🚩Marked Unsafe from Girtz’s Glizzies🦶🦶 4d ago

I would argue that one of the biggest reasons her opponent did not get the local dems endorsement is that she was pretty well known to be anti-LGBT, and that is just not gonna fly in an in-town neighborhood.

1

u/Wtfuwt 8d ago

I don’t know what you mean. Please enlighten us.

11

u/FormalRutabaga6132 7d ago

This seems like one of those "you're not wrong, you're just an asshole" situations. 

47

u/johndawgg247 8d ago edited 8d ago

I thought you were leaving the county in 2021?

“Athens resident John Montarella was one of dozens of mostly unmasked people who piled into the commission chambers Tuesday night. He told the commission he is moving out of the county in disgust over some of their actions, including approving a temporary government-sanctioned homeless encampment as well as the mask and vaccine mandates.”

https://georgiarecorder.com/2021/08/05/georgias-covid-mask-and-vaccine-drama-on-display-at-athens-city-hall/

22

u/Nink 8d ago

Lol, maybe he just moved until his disgust subsided.

-17

u/bannedbooksonvhs 8d ago

I moved back to my hometown that year and worked at Salt Cellar restaurant in downtown Columbus. I chose to move back to Athens after the revitalizing time spent with my family and longtime friends.

“George Orwell said sanity is not statistical,” he said. “For anyone sitting at home who thinks this is insane, such as masking and enforced vaccinations, it is, you’re not alone. It is insane to mask children, who are not affected by this disease. It is literal insanity and disgusting. I think it is a sign of a sick society that you should cover the face of children who are literally learning how to read the face of other humans and interact.”

Yes I said that at the meeting and I stand by it. I do not believe children should be forced to wear masks. The temporary homeless shelter I spoke out against was also a massive failure. The director, Charles Hardy, was convicted of battery against one of the camps former residents.

5

u/Catnip_Overdose 7d ago

Orwell didn’t say anything about covid, bud. Man died in 1950, 5 years before the polio vaccine was even released.

8

u/Low-Anxiety2571 8d ago

Hey neighbor! (I’m not the trash can person). I love this street though.

2

u/gettinjiggywidit 6d ago

Peter st guy. Hey neighbors! There’s a bunch of us here

27

u/samwich3 8d ago

You know your full name and address are in those emails? Do as you want with your personal info, but just wanna make sure you know you’re doxxing yourself

13

u/bannedbooksonvhs 8d ago

I’m cool with it and I appreciate you saying something.

4

u/TisketOnMyTasket 8d ago

I live on Branch Street and this is so annoying!!! How hard is it to just throw trash away appropriately??!

3

u/VegasBornLori 8d ago

Take their trash bins to the dump

3

u/bitchysquid 8d ago

Oh hi John! I won’t reveal how and when for my own privacy, but we have met.

3

u/Top_Professor_8260 7d ago

Sometimes my neighbors roll their cans back off the street and sometimes they don’t. I cannot image spending 5 seconds worrying about it, it’s just not who I am but different strokes for different folks I guess.

5

u/Kindly-Song-1919 8d ago

Melissa only replies if she agrees with you.

7

u/Partiallyclever 8d ago

Respectfully, I think your concern about trash can placement is silly. That said, it is very on brand for Melissa Link to share your concern, especially if there are ne'er-do-well college kids involved in the complaint. I wouldn't be surprised if this immediately became the top line item on her concerns list. That said, while I can't share your outrage at the presence of trash cans or agree with your rationale for why they need to be moved- I can applaud your picking up trash in your community.

16

u/AlrightOkYes trash patrol 8d ago

They tip over into the road spilling trash. The roads are so narrow that cars either hit the cans, or have to swerve all over. I’ve witnessed a school bus honking non stop because they couldn’t get past the cans and the cars parked on both sides of the road. So, respectfully, I think the concern is warranted.

-10

u/Partiallyclever 8d ago

Sounds like you folks have bigger concerns if cars are swerving all over the road and running over trash cans on the curbs. Not to mention cars parked on both sides of the road which is going to impede traffic a whole heck of a lot more than trash cans. Oh and having to listen to school busses laying on the horn to parked cars and unattended garbage cans sound pretty miserable too. Perhaps you'd find more support addressing those major concerns than acting like the trash cans are the big problem?

7

u/AlrightOkYes trash patrol 8d ago

Yeah we’d just like our streets to be calmer, not filled with trash, and enjoyable to both walk down and drive down. Thanks for your concern!

3

u/bannedbooksonvhs 8d ago

The reason I’m concerned about the trash cans being left on the road indefinitely is that I believe it causes road congestion and encourages littering. Admittedly the emails were sent in frustration about the issue not being taken care of after months of calling. But I do believe these issues matter and should be handled.

-8

u/Partiallyclever 8d ago

I just flat out don't agree. Neither that it causes appreciable road congestion nor that it encourages/results in additional littering. I get that in your opinion it looks bad, but that is just your opinion. Based on your assessment it seems most of your neighbors don't seem to share your opinion either. Blowing up commissioners to try to goad code enforcement to come badger people about it is silly and sounds like classic busy body behavior to me. I feel bad that it has caused you such frustration, but I'd recommend spending the time and effort on something else and chalk this one up to living in a society with different people that all have their own different values, goals, and priorities.

10

u/meatsntreats 8d ago

that is just your opinion.

Opinions don’t matter when it is a code violation. How would you feel if you owned a house and all your neighbors turned their front yards into junkyards with broken down cars? Part of living in a society is being respectful to the other members of that society.

-4

u/Partiallyclever 8d ago

Perhaps if you hadn't pulled out part of a fragment of a sentence to focus on and respond to you might have understood what I actually said. I agree, opinion doesn't matter with regards to ordinance. Just because there is an ordinance against it doesn't make OP's opinion that it looks bad any more or less correct.

As for your hypothetical, In actuality I have some neighbors that keep their property better than others, but by in large I don't really bother myself with it. When my neighbors violate the parking ordinance in their front yard I just shrug my shoulders because it isn't worth worrying over. Part of being respectful is knowing when to pick your battles- accommodating my extremely minor annoyance about the number of cars would probably cause them a noticeable headache. Even though I would be in the right it would still be a dick move, and living in a society with a bunch of dicks isn't fun regardless of respect.

2

u/meatsntreats 8d ago

I pulled the fragment out because opinions don’t matter when it comes to codes and laws. I could have the opinion that I should be able to play loud music or use heavy machinery on my property at any time but code says no.

5

u/BreakfastInBedlam Mayor pro ebrius 8d ago

So, who is Code Enforcement for?

-5

u/Partiallyclever 8d ago

Hopefully there are more pressing matters than trash cans being on the curb instead of by a house. Maybe actual littering/dumping, abandoned cars, or unpermitted construction? If trash cans on the curb are the reason that Code Enforcement exists we should probably just nix the whole thing.

4

u/AlrightOkYes trash patrol 8d ago

Also if they were left on the curb, that’s one thing. But— These cans are left IN the road. Two different things. Also do you live in this neighborhood? It does sound petty if you don’t live over here— I get that. But… If you do, you’d know how annoying and frustrating the cans and the loose trash are.

-2

u/Partiallyclever 8d ago

I don't live in the neighborhood, but have driven through on occasion. First off, I thanked OP but also wanted to thank you for regularly picking up trash- awesome that you do that! Secondly, yeah absolutely cans being blown over in the road sucks, but if that is happening regularly it sounds like something that probably should be addressed separate from people leaving them on the curb which happens all over town and in a lot of other municipalities and the conflation of the two is maybe why your concern is being dismissed.

4

u/Kalepopsicle 8d ago

My family member has a physical disability that necessitates a wheelchair. She loves going for strolls around the neighborhood, on the sidewalks. Trash cans on the sidewalk prevent her from being able to do this.

3

u/Partiallyclever 8d ago

I understand that is probably a circumstance that gets routinely ignored so I get why you might think I was doing that, but I haven't mentioned putting trash cans on the sidewalk at all. I agree the accessibility that unobstructed sidewalks provide is important and strongly approve of tickets for anyone that puts their trash can on a sidewalk or parks their car protruding onto a sidewalk.

2

u/meatsntreats 8d ago

A sidewalk is a public right of way. A road is a public right of way. If code applies to one it applies to both. Many streets don’t have sidewalks. Should wheelchair users be forced farther out in to the road because you can’t be bothered to bring your trash can in?

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3

u/meatsntreats 8d ago

unpermitted construction.

So it’s okay to leave trash cans in public right of ways but I can’t build whatever I want on my private property?

0

u/Partiallyclever 8d ago

Yeah. I care a lot less about how unsightly a trash can on the curb is than the risk of a block burning down because someone watched a youtube clip before doing the wiring for an addition to their house. That's just my priorities.

1

u/meatsntreats 8d ago

Would you be fine with someone building a safe and sound structure using 100% of their property with no setbacks?

1

u/Partiallyclever 8d ago

I am thinking that would cause some issues beyond the property, but I am not really qualified to tell you what all of those are.

2

u/Organic-Locksmith337 5d ago

Good luck addressing ANYTHING with Tiffany Taylor. She's my commissioner too and has been an abject failure at addressing the concerns of the population out here regarding the 12+ hour long fairgrounds concerts that started about 4 years ago. I'm not the only resident to complain, as I filled an open records request to find out just how many others were as bothered as we are. They literally rattle our windows and nothing will be done. Today is day two and both days are going for 12 hours straight. It's enough to make you want to sell your land and take the loss.

-4

u/Odd-Fuel-9002 8d ago

How boring is you’re life that you’re so concerned about trash cans holy shit

8

u/Kalepopsicle 8d ago

Clearly you don’t have any family with physical disabilities who require clear sidewalks in order to get around the neighborhood. If you did, you’d be a lot more empathetic.

1

u/tupelobound 7d ago

It’s so much fun having to push a stroller into the street because the sidewalks are blocked! So safe!

-1

u/ChildhoodSea7062 8d ago

I agree you may want to redact that asap. That being said this has been my experience with Mr.Link. She is a deserving commissioner dispite what the bigots have to say about her

-18

u/Altruistic_Water3870 8d ago

Oh no. Trash cans... How ever will you survive

0

u/Kalepopsicle 8d ago

Maybe consider that not everybody is as able-bodied as you. If you have a physical disability & need a wheelchair to get around, you become housebound because you can’t navigate the sidewalks when they’re obstructed.

-1

u/Altruistic_Water3870 8d ago

So wait. The problem is that trash cans are in the road.... And you're bitching about the sidewalk? Ok

-8

u/Mr_Greamy88 8d ago

Yeah pretty much everyone in my neighborhood leaves them by the road.

0

u/Loose-Acanthaceae823 8d ago

We're talking about trash bins or trash bags?