What should have been a depository for clothes and books for the less fortunate has become an eyesore in the middle of the countryside.
Rain-soaked mattresses, clothes, odd shoes, puzzle pieces, toys, crayons and a shriveled hanging basket are among the debris scattered around a book drop. Long after a drop box for clothes was removed, people have kept dumping possessions they no longer want.
Langley Township Councillor Charlie Fox passes the mess on the southeast corner of 240 Street and Fraser Highway two or three times a day, and on Monday he told council that “it’s an unmitigated disaster.”
Adding that garbage has been strewn there for a while, Fox said that the Township “has to get a handle on it.”
Mayor Rick Green agreed.
“It’s absolutely disgusting,” he said.
On Tuesday, as he toured the site where garbage is dumped in several spots, Fox stumbled across an old motor and large coils of wire stripped of their copper innards.
The property, which belongs to an offshore owner, is for sale, and as such it’s up to the owner to keep in clear of garbage.
Administrator Mark Bakken advised that community drop boxes should be placed in locations where there is a higher standard of maintenance.
Fox pointed out that the grounds around a community drop box on the Aberdeen fire hall on Fraser Highway, just east of the Langley/Abbotsford border, are kept tidy because of the proximity of the hall and Abbotsford maintenance workers attending to them.
Council asked staff for a report that will focus on controlling where the boxes should be located, and how grounds can be kept tidy.