Who's Responsible for Weed Removal?
Weedy median near airport makes bad first impression in Yakima
Weeds are unslightly, no matter where they pop up. But some in Yakima are concerned they're giving the city a bad first impression to visitors, so they called our Trouble Shooter. Now, the people who are responsible for removing unwanted vegetation, may not be the ones who get rid of it.
Yakima real estate agent Ron Anderson is concerned that the first thing people see leaving the airport, are the weeds in the median on Washington Avenue.
"You don't get a second chance to have a first good impression, and so I think it's vital to keep those areas clean," says Anderson.
Anderson says if weeds are not taken care of, wherever they may be in the city, they can become a bigger problem that's not easily solved.
"It gets ignored, or overlooked, it just kind of builds up and deteriorates into more of an eye sore over time," he says.
City leaders say property owners are responsible for removing weeds. But there were questions over who was responsible for upkeep on the median on Washington Avenue.
After a few phone calls we did find out the city owns the property where the median sits. Now it's the city's responsibility to maintain the median, and keep it free of weeds.
The city streets department says the median is sprayed once a year to kill weeds. Budget cuts have forced workers to often choose between median maintenance, and fixing potholes.
That's where Ron Anderson says service clubs might have to step in and take care of what the city can't.
"Not to try and take ocer the entire town, but just a portion of it, and help everybody else keep the town clean," says Anderson.
Many service clubs in Yakima have already picked up where crews left off. Clubs like Rotary, Kiwanis, and others have their members taking care of downtown, and other gateway areas into the city.