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Residents worry about losing trash pickup

Posted at 8:18 PM, Feb 23, 2016
and last updated 2016-02-23 20:18:40-05

For Denise Danjou, taking out the trash isn’t easy.

"It is too big and too bulky. I don't even think I can take it from here to the road."

She has Multiple Sclerosis and has to use a scooter.

Her husband has COPD and relies on an oxygen tank.

So hearing that their Lake Worth mobile home park might lose its curbside trash pick up is concerning.

"We'd have to ask someone to bring it for us. There's no way we could bring it down there," said Denise.

The Palm Beach Mobile Home Park in Lake Worth is a 55 and older community.

Now, there are nearly 600 residents who are worried they’ll lose trash service and have to use containers that could be as much as a half mile away.

"It would put a lot of our residents, who are disabled, unable to bring their garbage up here or even place it in one of the large containers," said Jerri Greene, the parks homeowner's association president.

Earlier this month, the City of Lake Worth notified the park that it should not be receiving curbside trash service because it is classified as a commercial property, not residential.

The City says the zoning changed back in 2009, but the pick ups slipped under the radar until an audit last year.

The city also says the park is not paying enough.

The staff says it's losing about 2700 dollars a month on this park, and thousands of other city trash customers are picking up the tab.

"it comes down to operations and money and fairness and that we treat everyone equally in the system," said City Manager Michael Bornstein.

The City says it is willing to talk with park owners about keeping the curbside pick up, but  the owners of the park would have to pay the right price per unit for the service.

We have reached out to the owners of the park about these options and have not heard back yet.

The community is holding a protest at City Hall Tuesday evening.