10,500 POUNDS OF LITTER PICKED "UP" FROM COVINGTON STREETS

by Michael Monks
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In an announcement today at the Avenue Lounge, the Urban Partnership says more than ten thousand pounds of trash were removed from Covington's streets in August. The group claims that that number is double the total amount collected between April, when the program began, to July. In addition to the trash removal, UP claims to have removed weeds from 202 block faces in August, four times the amount of the previous month. They saw a big increase in graffiti removal as well, washing away 343 incidents of "tagging" compared to 235 last month.
The boost in numbers is partially credited to the Transitions drug treatment facility which supplied volunteers and parolees to help in the clean-up efforts. “Up to now, we have had four paid staff and up
to eight volunteers working monthly," said UP Executive Director and Covington Business Council President Pat Frew. "With these new volunteers we now have 15-18 on the streets Monday
through Friday. This frees us to do additional services besides litter patrol.”

Labor hours increased from 1,118 to 2,146. UP will provide the clean-up services at no cost to residents or business owners through 2012 and at that point a funding source will need to be addressed. At today's announcement, UP offered tours of the areas and explanations of how the clean-up process has gone.

FROM THE URBAN PARTNERSHIP:
The cleanup project is centered in the following corridor: North from 12th Street (Martin Luther King Drive) to the Ohio River and West from the Licking River to Interstate 75. The work is designed to make the area more inviting to developers, prospective investors and business owners as well as potential residents. UP plans to soon launch a petition effort asking property owners to agree to be assessed to keep the work sustained after next year. Urban Partnership (UP) Covington, a private sector effort through the auspices of the Covington Business Council, provides street cleaning and litter, weed and graffiti removal services. UP is not a city agency but works to enhance efforts by the City of Covington. Call our hotline to request services, 859-291-4333.

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