Bill Langford, general manager of the Resource Management Division Rapid Response Team, Hillsborough County. Penny Fletcher photos.
When Bill Langford was simply a code enforcement officer, he got so many good ideas for cleaning up blighted areas of South County, he was promoted to general manager of the Resource Management Division Rapid Response Team for all of Hillsborough County.
Of course, with a promotion comes a lot more work. But Langford has already set up a staff and procedures to handle not just code enforcement, but a whole plethora of jobs under one head.
His new title has put him in charge of code enforcement, abandoned properties, illegal dumping, marine safety (derelict vessels; broken channel markers and more); dead domestic animals; graffiti (especially on public property but also helping homeowners depending on the circumstances); water restrictions (enforcement of certain days); building condemnation; homeless recovery (inspection to make sure rentals are up to code for Section 8 low-income-occupancy); and helping to set up for special events, like Apollo Beach’s Manatee Arts Festival and the Ruskin Seafood & Arts Festival.
A whole paragraph of duties, but he doesn’t perform them alone.
When doing a “Fight the Blight” campaign to clean up blighted areas, it’s a combination effort with Solid Waste, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, Code Enforcement and Public Works.
But normally, he has a staff of six — one supervisor and five officers strictly assigned to Langford for the purpose of keeping the tasks mentioned above moving.
Much of the trash that people throw on out-of-the-way county roads (from a truckload of lawn and leaf bags to threadbare couches and rusty washing machines) can now be picked up in front of houses in “blighted areas” and accepted at the Gibsonton Solid Waste facility without a tax bill.
“It used to be we required a tax bill and the owner of the property had to be there to dump,” Langford said. “But now we have an affidavit of disposal for people to sign that it is their waste. This should help tenants — renters — keep their places cleaned up.
“Of course, we don’t want this to be a regular thing with the same people coming week after week with trailer-loads of large items,” said Langford, “so we would prefer to go back to the tax bill when we can.”
Another convenience for residents is that every third Saturday one-mile north of S.R. 674 on Westlake Drive on the left-hand side is a large disposal bin. “We call this the Wimauma Dump Site, but you can be from elsewhere in South County to use it. This would require a tax bill if at all possible,” Langford said.
At certain times, the group takes fliers out to communities to tell them what day they can put large items (televisions, furniture) in front of their homes. This keeps them from having to borrow or rent trucks to get their trash off their property, he explained. They put the notices out on Saturday, give people a whole week to get their things to the curb and then pick up the following Saturday.
“We must do our best to eliminate doing this for commercial enterprises,” he said. “This is for homeowners and renters to keep their places clean. Commercial people need to rid themselves of their own waste.”
Most of the problems the county dump sites have involves landlords of rental apartments and mobile homes who come week after week and don’t pay, trying to use their tax bill or affidavit. They are commercial enterprises and should be handled as such, Langford said.
The Gibsonton dump, 13000 U.S. 41, accepts paint and batteries and chemical/toxic substances once a month. This is called the Big Bend Site and may be looked up online to see what days it will do this. There are three other sites in north Hillsborough that also do it.
Fliers from the Hillsborough County Solid Waste Division say that items that do not fit in the gray residential roll-cart are not collected as part of your normal pickup, but you may dispose of these things at a Community Collection Center at no charge and if you cannot transport them, you may contact your solid waste residential collection service provider to arrange a fee-based bulk pickup. This can include items as large as sectional couches, large bookcases and all appliances, including stoves and refrigerators.
Anyone who needs assistance in contacting their residential provider may call 813-272-5680 or visit HillsboroughCounty.org/SolidWaste.
But the best way to keep areas clean — especially roadsides in your neighborhood and in the wilderness — is to join a group such as Keep Tampa Bay Beautiful and Adopt a Highway.
These may be located by visiting www.adoptahighway.net or calling 1-800-499-2367; or visiting www.keeptampabaybeautiful.org or calling 813-221-8733.
“Hillsborough County is well over 1,000 square miles,” Langford said. “We can’t do it all. Everyone has to do his or her part. If you see trash, like bottles and cans [certainly not furniture!], please just pick it up. Everyone has a responsibility to keep our county beautiful.”