San Bruno cleans up its act

The initiative, organized online by frustrated residents, led to the collection and removal of countless pounds of refuse — which included some items as large as mattresses and couches.

Organizers celebrated the success of the grassroots effort, while bemoaning the problem growing so severe that community members felt compelled to take the initiative rather than continue waiting on government agencies to fix it.

“Through the power of social of media, we just found each other and just decided let’s be the solution,” said resident Melissa Rohlfs. “So we are just trying to tackle it as residents.”

For her part, Rohlfs said she has repeatedly registered complaints with city officials regarding the trash and garbage issue and received no substantial response. So she took to gathering the discarded items herself, which is where former San Bruno City Council candidate Stephen Seymour met her.

Similarly frustrated with the problem and bemused by the perceived inaction of his local government, Seymour started spreading the message online and identifying other like-minded community members to join the movement.

One of those residents is Bo Smith, who also said the concerns he raised to city officials regarding the growing trash problem went largely ignored.

“It made me really angry,” said Smith, who started posting on social media platform Nextdoor regarding his dissatisfaction. Over time, he encountered others willing to join his cause which led to neighbors printing fliers and distributing the word about planned garbage pickup events.

As a result, isolated groups previously focused only on their neighborhood began consolidating online and built toward a larger network of concerned citizens. The group started a neighborhood pickup group, which has grown from a small group of about 15 motivated citizens to an estimated 80 community members who showed up to the event last weekend.

Among those who joined the effort were elected officials including Mayor Rico Medina, Vice Mayor Marty Medina, Councilwoman Linda Mason and Councilman Tom Hamilton.

For the part of those who established the group, they feel their concerns are finally getting heard by their elected representatives.

Rico Medina confirmed that suspicion, and committed to addressing the issue in short order.

“They are fed up and I am too,” said Rico Medina.

A key hurdle which has limited the city’s response so far is the presence of trash or dumping on property in San Bruno owned by other government agencies or private organizations, said Rico Medina.

But rather than shift the blame to difficulties of getting disparate groups to work together, Rico Medina committed to assuring the city and its partner government agencies begin addressing the problem immediately.

“We have got to sit at the table and see how it’s going to get done. Because it has to get done,” said Rico Medina.

Illustrating his commitment, Rico Medina said officials on Tuesday, Jan. 26, formed a subcommittee on the San Bruno City Council focused on addressing trash and dumping issues.

“We have to change our mentality and our opinion and hold people accountable,” said Rico Medina.

Members of the cleanup crew are heartened that their effort is capturing the attention of city officials. But after years of trying to fix the problem with marginal success, the residents said they are cautiously optimistic things will be different this time.

And while they might have some lingering doubts regarding the city’s commitment, community members share no doubt that they will stay focused on getting and keeping San Bruno clean.

“In the end, we realize we all have a part to play and we are on the cusp of getting that done,” said Seymour.

austin@smdailyjournal.com