Laredo, TX - Friday, January 21, 2005-- Inspectors from various City departments will team up on Monday, January 24, 2005 to make a sweep of an area in City Council District VII educating about and enforcing City codes.

The campaign will encompass a multi-block stretch from Calton to Geronimo between West Riverside and Los Martinez. Teams will focus on: Katy-Gustavo, Las Cuatas, JJ-Jorge, Jamie, Elsa Gerardo, Sergio, Gilberto, Mauricio, Markley, Elva Teresa and Geronimo Lp. (West Riverside.) Inspectors from Community Development (Code Enforcement division), Police (Ordinance division), Health (Animal Control division) and Planning (Zoning Inspection division) will be walking door-to-door on Monday. They will be speaking to property and business owners about proper maintenance codes, pointing out violations and distributing information.

In addition to this focus on the neighborhoods, City inspectors will advise residents and business owners to place unwanted debris and objects at the curb for removal. On Wednesday, January 26, 2005, Solid Waste and Public Works staff members will be picking up all curbside debris along the designated Operation Clean-Up area. Participants in the “clean-up” area are urged to place all unwanted items on the curb away from fences, water meters and mailboxes by 7:00 a.m. Inspectors will inform participants on a case-by-case basis regarding limitations on unwanted items.

“Operation Clean-Up is a really positive campaign for helping to beautify Laredo,” said Erasmo Villarreal, Community Development Director. “Residents have cleaned up their community, and we have only had to issue a minimal amount of citations. We encourage everyone to be a part of this campaign,” he said.

The following are the results of the December 28, 2004 Campaign in Del Mar Subdivision:

verbal warnings 5

written warnings citations 13

weeds/letters 5.88 tons of debris removed