By Amanda Amsel
Staff Writer
A group who has agreed to clean up the islands on Georgesville Road is taking their efforts to another level by hosting community cleanups in Franklin Township.
Friends of the Hilltop will be hosting the Litter Bust event at 8 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 3 at their office, 3556 Sullivant Ave., Suite 103. The cleanup will span miles and take volunteers through parts of Columbus and Franklin Township, including Georgesville Road and Sullivant Avenue.
“This cleanup is made possible by a grant from AEP and United Way,” said William Huffman, Friends of the Hilltop Operations Manager. “After volunteers register they will be given gloves, a vest, a roll of plastic bags, a bucket and grabber.”
The cleanup will cover six territories and groups will be responsible for cleaning 10 blocks. According to Huffman the number of volunteers will dictate how many blocks they are able to reach.
Cleanups like this are essential to Franklin Township as the township doesn’t have the manpower to clean up all the trash themselves.
This year the Franklin Township Road Department laid off one employee, taking them down to three staff members and one supervisor.
“They just don’t have the time or money to do cleanups like this,” Huffman said. “They have their hands full mowing grass and working on the various other projects the township has going on. We are trying to be good neighbors and help in any way we can.”
Nuisance properties continue to take up a majority of the Franklin Township Road Department’s time. In 2014, the township abated 86 properties and by the end of 2015 they expect to do even more.
The department also received a $15,000 grant to replace the signs in the township with new high reflectivity signs that will prevent crashes. At a recent trustees meeting Franklin Township Road Department Surpervisor Jim Stevens said the department needs to start installing these signs soon in order to meet the grant’s time requirements.
“We have one year to replace the signs after the new ones have been delivered,” he said. “This project is going to be very time consuming, however we will get it done and if we need and extension we will ask for one.”
This isn’t the first time Friends of the Hilltop has come to the rescue of Franklin Township.
The organization also volunteered to clean up the roadway islands in the township, something that has been an eyesore for many local businesses.
“There is no maintenance agreement on these islands, so they weren’t being properly maintained,” Huffman said. “We have agreed to clean them up, however we have not been able to do it yet because we have not received permission from the proper organizations. We can’t do anything until the state tells us it is our responsibility, once that is done we will start cleaning them up. ”
For more information on the Friends of the Hilltop and their efforts in Franklin Township, visit www.friendsofthehilltop.com.
