Dumping a Recurring Problem in City Parks
By Chris Seymour | Correspondent at November 7, 2023 | 10:00 am | Print
One Thursday last month, McClintock Street resident Jeanne Bernacki was startled by a loud noise she heard coming from the road at 5:30 a.m.
“I heard a commotion and looked out the window, but I couldn’t see anything because it was dark—I just saw a truck,” recalled Bernacki, adding the truck left the scene quickly. “Then, in the morning when daylight came, there was this big tree stump by the road and, my God, it was bigger than my stove!”
Bernacki, who lives across from the woods of Stanley Quarter Park, said people have been dumping items—including bottles, cans, garbage, grass clippings and tree branches—for years but this was the first tree stump.
“This has been going on for the over 30 years that I have been living here,” said Bernacki, who explained that she and her neighbors often pick up the dumped items but they’re sick of having to do it. “It’s constant—bottles, cans, garbage— and we pick that up; during our trash day, we go across the street and pick up whatever is there. But when they leave big things like a tree stump, a big piece of machinery was needed to come take that away.”
Bernacki was not sure which city department picked up the stump, but she said a neighbor’s call to the city resulted in the stump being removed.
According to Parks and Recreation Director Bill DeMaio, dumping has been a recurring problem in city parks. “We found an increase in dumping in all the parks system when the cost of disposal of trash becomes more and more,” said DeMaio. “It’s unfortunate that people do not respect the public parks and the public rights of way.”
According to DeMaio, there’s a $219 fine for dumping on the roadside and the vehicle used to do the dumping can be seized by police. “Also the fines can go up as high as $25,000 –up to $25,000 per day for dumping,” said DeMaio.
Police Chief James Wardwell advises any residents who witness illegal dumping—or even suspect it has occurred near them—to call the police non-emergency dispatch line at 860-826-3000.
“Even if they don’t see a vehicle or person, we can at least document what is going on and every once in a while, it’s somebody’s bag of trash that has their discarded mail in it,” said Wardwell.
According to the chief, illegal dumping is “always a problem.” He added, “We do address it and the spot [Bernacki] is talking about is a spot we are trying to keep an eye on, but as much as we would like to say we can watch things 24/7, we just don’t have resources to do that,” said Wardwell. “So we do need the community’s help and when they see something happening let us know; and if they find out after the fact—they come out and see it the next morning—still let us know.”
As one might imagine, Bernacki was particularly outraged that a dead dog in a box was recently dumped on her street. “Somebody left a box about two months ago not too far from the road and one of my neighbors went and looked at it and said, ‘I see fur in there,’ so he called the parks department, and I don’t know who he got but someday came out, but somebody threw a dead dog in there—in a box,” she said. “It’s things like that, you know.”
Bernacki also expressed concerns about the dangers posed by ATVs and other motorized vehicles illegally riding around the park and on her street. “They come out in between the trees onto our street and one day I was driving up the hill, and it’s a good thing I was going slow because I was ready to turn into my driveway, and these ATVs came right out in front of me,” she recalled. “And if I didn’t stop, I would’ve hit them and we all would’ve gotten killed or injured.”
Wardwell emphasized that ATVs are illegal “on all city streets and in all city parks” and asked members of the public to report any illegal ATV or dirt bike riding. “If your neighbor has them and you see them going in and out of the driveway, tell us where they exist and we will watch for them,” said Wardwell.
In addition to fines, illegally riding an ATV can result in criminal charges, said the chief. “We go beyond motor vehicle offenses here—so forget about fines—you’re going to jail,” said Wardwell. “It could be anything from breach of peace, you can have property seized and you can be arrested [put in] handcuffs. It is just that dangerous.”
