LAWRENCE - It took less than two weeks on the job to get acting Inspectional Services Commissioner Myles Burke fed up with trash-strewn lots and sidewalks lined with litter.
"I'm going to start looking aggressively at properties that bring down the image of the city," said Burke, who is inviting city councilors to tour their districts with him to view the unkempt areas.
"We're not going to let one or two blighted properties bring down a whole neighborhood any more and we're going to use every tool at our disposal to make the changes that need to be made in the way we attack the problem of blighted properties, whether private or city-owned," he said.
A tour of several city neighborhoods last week prompted Burke to begin compiling a list of lots, buildings, and unsanitary or unsafe properties that need to be cited by the city for various code violations. Inspectors have already issued citations for several of those properties.
Burke, 50, who has been chief of staff to Mayor Michael Sullivan for five years, took over this month for former Inspectional Services Commissioner Caroline Ganley, who resigned to move to the Washington, D.C., area to be with her fiance. Burke has already begun compiling files on the problem properties.
Burke wrote a letter to City Council President Patrick Blanchette offering to make himself available to any councilor "to walk the district" to visit targeted sites as part of a new cleanup initiative. Burke also plans to begin attending regular meetings of the city's neighborhood groups.
"Between the councilors and the neighborhood groups, I'm sure they have a real good handle on neighborhood offenders and problem properties," Burke said yesterday.
"And I'm going to respond to their needs when they bring them to my attention. We'll get a city map in the office and use cushion pins to target some of the problem areas. We'll also develop a spreadsheet. I plan to be adding new entries to the list every day, and crossing off the ones on the list as they're cleaned up," he said.
In recent years, Ganley's office drew criticism from city councilors for not being "customer friendly" and not responding to neighborhood concerns.
"A lot of the neighborhood folks felt they were missing the connection with inspectional services," said Councilor Nilka Alvarez-Rodriguez.
"So, I think it's a great approach. For anything to get done, I think it has to be grass roots. This may be the way to turn it around so people think things are being done with blighted lots," she said.
"We need a customer-friendly atmosphere. And Myles, being a true Lawrencian, is offering that. It's a very, very refreshing sign that this office is changing for the good," said Blanchette.
Burke's initiative comes on the heels of new trash disposal fees for heavy household appliances and computer-related equipment which some city officials fear will contribute to more illegal dumping on vacant lots. The new fees, including $25 for the pickup of "white goods," goes into effect tomorrow.
If people put household appliances and computer equipment in the trash without a sticker, they will be warned by inspectors. Continued refusal to obey the new law will result in a $75 fine, Burke said.
As part of the new crackdown on blight, Burke said his department might request additional surveillance cameras near notorious dumping sites.
He also is considering a proposal to charge the owners of unkempt lots for city resources used in any cleanup.
The problem of cleaning up many of the lots that have not been well maintained is compounded because the properties are mired in Land Court, Burke said.
"In talking with some of the councilors over the last several years, one of their frustrations was the cleanliness of the city. Graffiti and blight can become contagious the same way as pride in property can be. We want to create an attitude where pride becomes a contagious thing," he said.
