AHA Committee

As I mentioned in an earlier post, there’s a house down the street that was abandoned and is now owned by Bank of America. There was lots of crap inside the house that was also abandoned and someone about 6 weeks ago cleaned out the house and piled all the garbage bags in the front yard. Since then the bags have broken open, more trash has been added, and it’s starting to spill into the street. It’s an eyesore.

It’s clear who is responsible for cleaning up this mess. Bank of America. But, it’s also clear that they are indifferent and unlikely to respond.

So, what’s the solution? And not just for this lot, but for all the other abandoned homes that aren’t getting their lawns mowed and are falling into disrepair. It benefits the neighborhood more than the bank to maintain these properties. But, if I start mowing Bank of America’s lawn every week, I’m going to feel like a sucker. Why am I doing their work for free? Why can’t they be responsible for their property?

Should the City clean it up?

It would be nice if they did, but I appreciate that they’re busy, and they have procedural guidelines that need to be met. And, the less the City has to do, the better for my wallet.

So, what’s the solution?

Ad Hoc Action Committees, or AHA Committees.

My imaginary solution is that the City of Tampa puts up a page where citizens can post actions they’d like to see taken in their neighborhood. So, for example, I’d write that I’d like to see that trash picked up. Then, good-hearted community-oriented groups can select projects from this list and take action. Girl Scouts, Jaycees, church groups, neighborhood associations, fraternities, groups that put together floats for Gasparilla, etc. All of these groups then have a chance to get into a neighborhood and increase their reputation.