That was Then; This is Now

John here.

Paean to the Past

A few years ago (back when flying still was almost fun) I flew down to Tampa for a visit. I recall a visit from Alverson to give Carolyn a very nice wine rack he had built from scratch. Carolyn tells me there were at least two occasions in that time period when Alverson helped her out with minor plumbing repairs. In those days, the property at 6003 hardly fit into the picture of Seminole Heights and bungalows but it was clean and neat, and Alverson was a good neighbor.

Plaint for the Present

Then his wife left and the place deteriorated. As of July 5, we were approaching the third citation for raw sewage on the ground and that was just the tip of the iceberg:

On July 5, aside from the further sewage incident, Code nonEnforcement wrote Alverson for trash ("accumulations"), weeds ("overgrowth"), and paint ("sound[ness] with minor repairs"); they gave Alverson 21 days to correct these problems.

Today is day 24. Alverson picked up some of the trash but we still have the collection behind the shed


and a new collection out back


As to the weeds, they mowed Saturday but left enough weeds to demonstrate the capacity of this property to grow more.


And nothing has happened to the structure.


We'll see how Code nonEnforcement deals with this further opportunity to actually do their job.

In the meantime, a request for records discloses that three of the five dogs and the ferret at 6003 have not been vaccinated for rabies. That poses issues for Carolyn (who was bitten by the first two dogs, who now at least are vaccinated), Animal Control, and Code (the zoning does not permit a kennel).

For sure, Alverson has demonstrated that he is capable of being a good neighbor, so the only reason Carolyn (and Steve over at 6001) continue to live next door to a Third World Country is that Tampa and the County are refusing to enforce the law. Stay tuned.

Note added later Friday morning: Two trucks showed up at 6003 this morning. One says "SHIP -Senior Home Improvement Program" on the side. Hallelujah!