waste not. Accumulation of dog feces in public spaces and walkways has become a concern for residents living in the downtown area near Thea Foss Waterway. Signs, complimentary scoop bags and bins to dispose of them have not been enough to encourage local dog owners to dispose of their pet’s waste in a safe manner. Instead, condo owners are dealing with the issue themselves and trying to spread word about it. (Photo by dawn quinn)
Downtown Tacoma resident Peter Serko has picked up on a problem occurring near his home on Thea Foss Waterway: local residents who aren’t obeying the scoop law.
Serko realized that this is an issue ever since he moved into his apartment at Thea’s Landing four years ago. He said he brought it up to the Foss Waterfront Owners Association about a year and a half ago because he couldn’t stand it anymore.
“The first time I contacted them (2009), they indicated that they would take care of it but they never did. They said they would contact the contractors they work with to clean it and it never happened,” Serko stated.
The Tacoma resident affirmed that instead of the feces being picked up and properly disposed of, the contracted companies were mowing over the droppings so that remnants of it remained in the grass even after it had been attended to.
Frustrated with the situation and feces that had piled up along grass patches near the Waterway and even on the sidewalk, Serko contacted the Association again.
In addition to his owners association, Serko had contacted other local news outlets, Tacoma City Council, the Tacoma Pierce County Health Department as well as the Department of Ecology to no avail, except for KOMO News, which shot a news clip about the situation that aired within days of Serko’s e-mail being sent out. Since then, the situation seems to have alleviated some, but the local photographer doesn’t expect it to last very long.
“This time, they said they were going to do it and it appears to be being dealt with now. The first month after, they’ve asked the contractors to keep an eye on it, so that’s what they’re going to do. I don’t have much hope that it will stay this way, but we’ll see.”
According to association manager for the Thea Foss Waterway Owners Association, Lianna Collinge, Serko isn’t the only one to have brought this problem to the organization’s attention.
“Mr. Serko came to us last year and then about a month and a half later another man in his building came to us, but that’s it. After that complaint we spoke to our contractors to make sure they were on top of their people to make sure weren’t just mowing it over.”
Collinge affirmed that though the esplanade area’s maintenance is paid for by the owners of the apartments on the waterway, the area is city-owned, making the division of labor that much more confusing in terms of neighborhood politics.
“The esplanade and walkways are city-owned property and when the city and the development authority worked on the area, they handed all maintenance to the Owners Association to pay for everything, including security, landscaping, doggie cleanup and janitorial, even though it is a large attraction for tourists. The owners are bearing the burden.”
Serko is also concerned that as the newly developed Esplanade Condominiums eventually fill up with residents, there will be a lot more dogs and the problem will become exacerbated. “It is the dog owner’s responsibility, but it takes only a few to make it bad for everybody who lives here.”
In addition to the Foss Waterfront Owners Association contracting maintenance out, Collinge stated that the area is policed three times a week to attempt to catch negligent dog owners in the act of not scooping the poop and fine them, despite the fact that Doggie Pots with complimentary bags and disposing stations line the walkway of Thea Foss Waterway.
“There are lots of the offenders, and you like to think it’s people who are from other areas but it’s people who live there, too. How do you police that? Do you have someone there 24/7? Ultimately it’d be great if the city/Owners Association could have someone there two times per day, seven days per week. But for the owners association, we have many other things to pay for and it gets onerous,” Collinge commented.
“There are lots of associations, and I’m not sure if any of the others have tried to do anything in terms of dog feces policing…it might be good if some of those other associations set up their own organizations. They all have meetings, and if they put it on their agendas more often that would be a good plan,” she said.
Though their opinions may differ some, both Serko and the Foss Waterfront Owners Association agree that the organizations in question need to bring more attention to the issue so that local homeowners do not assume the brunt of the burden.
“The various parties that are involved with dealing with these space and management need to be more proactive of their areas and work with the waterway authority, so that somehow it’s looked after. The bottom line is people need to pick up after their dogs, and somebody has to be responsible for making sure that happens,” Serko said.
To watch Serko’s YouTube video about the Foss Waterway dog poop crisis, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31PPock75f8.
