Shanklin Launches "Mowing Blitz" to Combat Abandoned Properties

Continuing the fight against vacant homes and apartments, Louisville Metro Councilwoman Barbara Shanklin, D-2, has targeted 30 abandoned properties in the Newburg and Petersburg neighborhoods for a special "mowing blitz" over the next four days.The initiative is part of the ongoing plan to combat eyesores while Metro Government focuses on how to deal with the growing number of abandoned properties in the city.The Newburg/Petersburg Council Improvement Association is working with local contractors to cut and trim overgrown grass and hedges, some of which are at least three feet high."Working with the Newburg/Petersburg Council, the goal is to get ahead of the grass growing problem as summer gets underway," says Shanklin. "We want to make sure theses targeted properties do not become eye sores which has been the case in the past."The blitz began Saturday and will end on Wednesday, after which the group will review what has been accomplished and determine how to move forward over the course of the summer. The initiative was funded in part with a grant secured from Shanklin's discretionary funds.Shanklin says the city and local courts need to get tougher on banks and property owners who fail to maintain their abandoned lots. Last summer, she spearheaded a plan to publish the names of delinquent property owners in the Courier-Journal."Metro Louisville is focusing attention on cutting and cleanup overgrown grass in abandoned properties all over the city," she says. "The council approved extra funding in the budget to accomplish that goal with special teams of grass cutters. This ‘mowing Blitz” is another way of joining that effort. We are taking care of homes in the Newburg area."