W.V. neighborhoods tackling litter

WEST VALLEY CITY — Jamie Woodward and her family planted grass seed in front of their apartment this spring in the Arlington Park neighborhood, near 4800 South and 2600 West.

The lawn flourished and shrubs planted nearby are thriving, but Woodward still spends time every day picking up littered junk mail.

Woodward's struggles — and successes — represent a microcosm of the effort by city hall to rid the city of graffiti, crime, dilapidation and a suffering reputation.

The grass seeds were provided to Woodward at no cost, and landscaping at 33 other four-plexes in the neighborhood was overseen by a new community preservation task force, founded in January.

The task force also made some vacant and dangerous units livable and got the criminals out by enrolling each landlord in a program that saves them money on business licensing.

That led to a significant decrease in calls for police, which indicates the area is safer, said West Valley city manager Wayne Pyle.

But not all Arlington Parks neighbors are feeling more secure, and littering continues to mar the neighborhood.

The dissatisfied tenants point to crushed soda cans, empty bags of chips and papers that strew the sidewalks and roadways.

Robert Munguia and Martin Cruz, both of whom speak only Spanish, said they hadn't seen a change in their community since January, when the city stepped up its efforts. Cruz said he has tried again and again to get his landlord to clean up a trash heap by his building, but has gotten no response.

Part of the problem could be that West Valley City recently increased its code enforcement team from six officers to 13 officers, but only one of them speaks fluent Spanish.

"There's definitely more work to be done there," said Aaron Crim, who sits on the task force for the city. "It's all about pride in your neighborhood."

To supplement its neighborhood cleanup efforts, West Valley City has hired a Mexican native to interact with Hispanic residents, who make up about 27 percent of the population. About 30 percent of residents here speak a language other than English at home, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.