Concerns raised on social media about trash scattered near the intersection of Brentwood and Belmour in Pine Bluff have led to frustration from a local business owner after the City of Pine Bluff posted photos of the area following a cleanup.
Wes Brown, owner of RE/MAX Platinum and Insurance Max in Pine Bluff, contacted Deltaplex News to voice concerns over the city’s post, stating that the area shown in the photos is property managed by his company, and that his company is who cleaned the area up.
Brown said one of his concerns is that CARDS, Pine Bluff’s new sanitation provider, placed a contractor’s trash bin at the location, which he says prompted unauthorized use by members of the community.
Brown also said he takes issue with the city’s Facebook post, claiming it gave the impression the city cleaned up the property when he says he sent his own workers to address the issue.
In the comment section of the post Brown said: “I paid someone to clean it up because the citizens of Pine Bluff continue to illegally dump at every dumpster they can find and we have no way to stop them. This trash was not thrown down by our tenants which is very important to note. I’m interested to know how code enforcement or the City of Pine Bluff had anything to do with this? We do this every week all over the city. Thanks Richard for getting out this morning and cleaning up all the trash that was illegally dumped. Hired by RE/MAX Platinum of Arkansas. If the city or code enforcement actually cleaned this up as they are taking credit for please let me know.”
The city responded by saying: “While we can confirm that CARDS sent a crew to handle this matter, we appreciate your willingness to provide alternative assistance if needed.”
Brown responded by saying: “My guy was out there when CARDS showed up after we had been calling them for over a week.”
He spoke with Deltaplex News about this.
Brown said he is dealing with ongoing issues of illegal dumping at several properties he manages, which he says creates the false impression that tenants are not doing their part to keep the properties properly maintained.
