Citizens Urge Collier To Dump The Dumping

Shemariah Little moved from the North Side to after nearly getting shot in a drive-by shooting.

At the time, she appreciated the school district, the new opportunities and the beautiful neighborhood. Now, she is one of many community members that expressed their frustration and concern during the meeting Wednesday night about the dumping at Hilltop Park.

"I didn’t move from the city to the suburbs to live across the street from a dirt pile," Little said.

The dumping, which has been going on for years according to citizens, has increased in frequency the past few weeks. It has become so bad that residents along Hilltop Road can feel the vibrations from their home.

"Those trucks are causing, I think, the cracks that are starting to occur around doors and windows and things," said John Conroy, who lives right across from the dump site. "You can feel it in the house. It shakes."

The dumping was originally started because of the extreme falloff by the park, said board President Bob Schuler. The plan was to try to create a flat surface that could be developed into an additional recreational area.

However, citizens do not think the project is worth the safety and damage risks that the dump trucks cause.

"Along with noise pollution, the neighbors of Hilltop Park are subjected to significant amounts of air pollution,” resident Mary Popeck said. “Our local air is filled with soot and fine particles. For all we know, it may even be toxic."

Residents also worry that the trucks will cause traffic accidents. Resident Bonnie Zitwilla said the trucks often come three at a time and must back up in the middle of the road in order to make it into the entrance.

On top of that, the trucks run even on Saturdays. Several residents claimed to hear the trucks begin dumping at 7:30 a.m. and continue for 12-straight hours of noise.

"I think something got out of control, dumpers have got a little feisty," Schuler said. "It took a little while before it got back to us, but now we’ve got it under control. We have a stop sign up next to it."

In addition to the stop sign, the commissioners have placed a temporary halt on all dumping until a master plan can be determined.

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