Messed Up Trash Cans

  by Jeanette - March 15th, 2010 - 2:36 pm| Construction, Illegal Dumping, Neighbors | one comment

More trouble for a Nashville Realty Company that has recently been in the news:

In the wake of a Messed Up investigation, Metro Public Works, Codes, and the Metro Health Department are all taking action against Barrett Realty Company.

The latest complaints center around city owned trash cans at 3 Barrett Properties. These trash cans are full of construction grade material, some of which has spilled into a nearby culvert.

Metro officials say it is not the city’s job to pick up these trash containers at the expense of tax payers.

Mike Brandle has lived on Barrett Drive for 10 years. The house next to Brandle’s is a Barrett run property. Brandle told us this property is currently empty and being renovated.

On the day Messed Up arrived in this South Nashville neighborhood, it was trash day, and garbage cans lined the street. The 3 cans in front of the Barrett owned property at 412 Barrett Drive were over flowing with what appears to be roofing material.

Brandle said these garbage cans are out here all the time, and that these cans have been over flowing with construction material like this for weeks.

We drove around the neighborhood to look at other Barrett properties. We found trash cans filled with similar construction grade material, and, at one location, the cans were turned over and in the culvert.

We returned to the neighborhood hours later. The city garbage trucks had rolled through, and most of the cans had been removed from the street. The cans next to Mr. Brandle’s home were still at the curb, however the roofing material was gone, replaced with contractor grade trash bags.

We spoke with Billy Lynch who heads up the Metro Public Works Department. He said Barrett’s use of the city owned trash cans is a clear violation.

According to Lynch, city haulers should not pick up debris like this because it is against the following code:

10.20.290 Building debris–Responsibility for removal.
A. Building debris such as scrap lumber, plaster, roofing, concrete, brickbats, and sanding dust resulting from the construction, repair, remodeling or demolition of any building or appurtenances on private property will not be removed by the department of public works, and the owner must cause such materials and waste to be privately moved.

Lynch said the construction material exceeds the weight limitations for a 96 gallon container. He also said the haulers removed the Barrett cans because citizens complained about the way they looked. Lynch said the company is abusing the city service, and that his agency picked up all the city owned garbage receptacles at the 3 Barrett addresses we visited. Lynch also said Public Works mailed a letter of violation for each address to the realty company.

Metro Codes also confirmed it has an active investigation on the three Barrett properties. Metro Health has issued the company a notice to clean up the spilled trash at 408 Wimpole.

Once again, Messed Up went to Barrett Realty on Murfreesboro Road for a reaction. A man in the office told Messed Up to leave or the police would be called. We exited, unable to obtain a statement from the company regarding the recent developments.

As you may recall, Barrett Realty is the same company Messed Up investigated in a story earlier this month. At that time, new renters said Barrett Realty moved the previous tenant’s belongings to the front lawn for the city to pick up. After Messed Up got involved the city cited the agency, and Barrett Realty removed the furniture.

Messed Up gets results for Sylvan Heights neighbors

  by Aly - October 7th, 2009 - 4:14 pm| Illegal Dumping | 2 comments

After Sylvan Heights neighbors discover 50 gallon drums of a paint like substance ponding on the ground in their neighborhood, they contacted That’s Messed Up.

I visit the site behind a factory off of Nevada and 40th avenue in West Nashville. I quickly find rusty 50 gallon drums tipped over and ponds of yellow and red goo.

I detect a strong smell of paint.

Michael Bell lives next to the factory. Bell says when the wind blows - the smell from this colorful dump site permeates the air.

Bell says neighbors called TDEC months earlier, but investigators said the material was being properly stored. Obviously, the problem has grown much worse.

The spill is located behind the steel manufacturing building, next rail road tracks and bordered by Montgomery Bell Academy’s practice field.

I get the owner of the facility where the paint is spilled to accompany me around back.

Bill Gambill seems shocked by what I show him.

Shaking his head in disbelief, the steel fabricator pledges to clean this up.

Gambill is a man of his word. Less than 24 hours later, I return to the site and there is a bob cat scraping soil, and 3 heavily protected factory employees cleaning up the spill.

“We are grabbing the top soil,” Gambill says. “We’re putting it into sealed barrels and then get rid of them according to EPA plan.”

I ask him if the ponding puddles of goo are in deed paint. He tells me they are.

“Some of it is non leaded. Some is water based paint. Some of it is cut with light industrial thinner.

He says the paint is not considered dangerous, but he says the clean up is expensive. He has to pay for the bob cat, and pay his workers to scrape paint rather than work in the factory. He has to pay for the sealed drums and ultimately the disposal.

“I didn’t know this was here. So as soon as I was made aware, I want it gone.  I don’t need this kind of problem with economy like it is. The cost of recycling and the cost of getting these burned. The paint must be sent off to Ashland Chemcial. It’s $200 dollars a barrel. So I’m looking at costs there. And the economy is low. So this is time and money out of my pocket. I would like to know who the heck did this. It was none of my doing.”

Eric McCann is engineer with the Metro Public Health Department’s air pollution division. He tells me:

“We had a paint spill. We are talking to Mr. Gambill. It was some waste paint. As far as atmospheric pollution? we found a small amount of volatiles in the paint being released.”

I ask TDEC about possible ground water contamination?

Meg Lockhart writes:

There are no anticipated groundwater issues due to the spill — I am told this is due to the product itself and that it is not water soluble and would be more of an air quality concern as it is a fast drying enamel paint.  Again, cleanup efforts continue.

While we do not know exactly how the product from these drums was released, it appears to be an act of vandalism.  However, because these drums are on Mr. Gambill’s property, it is his responsibility to clean up the site — which they are doing.  According to TDEC staff at the site today, the property owner is handling the cleanup effort appropriately.  In addition, staff from both Metro’s Health Department and Air Pollution Control divisions have visited the site today as well.  The department will continue to investigate the matter but as mentioned, cleanup efforts are ongoing.”

Mr. Gambill tells Messed Up he has been battling gangs and vandalism. He has not called the police, but he suspects that the gangs might be responsible for the spill.