Letter to the Tattler: Foad Satterfield

 Emeryville Can't Seem to Get the Street Sweeping Contractor to Sweep the Streets

By Emeryville resident Foad Satterfield

One of the most basic functions of any city is to maintain the public infrastructure and that includes the cleaning of the streets.  The City of Emeryville seems to recognize this by the signage placed around town alerting motorists of no parking times to accommodate for street sweeping.  However the company Emeryville contracts with doesn’t seem to be on the same page as city hall.  



Emeryville's Public Works Director
Mohamed Alaoui
He has been notified repeatedly 
the sweeping contractor is not
sweeping the streets.  So far no luck
getting any help from Mohamed.

The street sweeping contractor, being a private for profit company seeking to increase their profit margins, doesn’t do the work the city pays them to do, as it turns out. They take the taxpayer's money but they commonly don’t perform the work.  That’s a nice arrangement for them but it’s not nice for us.



Take Horton Street, where I live for instance. The City placed signs saying there is no parking on the first Sunday of each month 8:00 pm to 6:00 am (Monday morning).  My neighbors on Horton always make sure we move our vehicles because we don’t want to get tickets, of course, but equally important, because we don’t want to live in a filthy environment.  The City agrees with us and it pays the money needed to keep Horton Street clean.  But there’s no follow up.  

We have complained to the Public Works Department that the street is not being cleaned by the contractor but our complaints have not elicited a response.

  At this point we the residents have been cleaning the street, picking up garbage and other waste materials. 



We have attempted to communicate these concerns to the City. We strongly encourage a review of the contract with the current street sweeping contractor and hire a new one that will sweep the street as they are obliged to do.

 This has been going on for years on Horton Street and if it’s happening here, it’s likely happening elsewhere in Emeryville.



What we are asking is not too much.  Street sweeping once a month is what’s stated.  When we miss a monthly sweep & clean, we must endure 60 days of a dirty street and then 120 days if the street sweeper fails to show up to do the work again, as they commonly do.
 
The City so far has been unwilling or unable to follow through with this service contract.  
In addition to doing what it needs to do to clean our streets, the City needs to perform an audit since we are paying for a service that is to be performed only once every 30 days and 12 times a year.



We are sad it has come to this.



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Foad Satterfeild is an internationally renowned painter, a retired Professor Emeritus at Dominican University and an Emeryville resident of more than 40 years.  He lives on Holden Street.