Fourth Street Lofts Web Log

Dear Fourth Street Lofts Residents,

This e-mail is a call for help from each of you. We have been having a very difficult time maintaining the trash room downstairs.

The trash room continues to be littered with inappropriate items which are not discarded correctly or do not belong in there at all. Today's case in point is all the Styrofoam material left on top of the recycling bins, the wooden cabinet left in front of the compactor, and the tools left on the floor. Two days ago it was four cans of paint, which is hazardous material and should be taken to a special dump. We often have abandoned furniture, packing materials of all kind left every which place, plastic bags and plastic peanuts put in the recycling bins, trash in the bins, paper in the can bin and visa versa, garbage left on the floor, boxes not broken down and strewn around, and it goes on.

We are asking our janitorial service to do a thorough cleaning in the trash room every couple of months, which will include steam-cleaning the trash compactor, recycle bins, floor, etc. However, the way things go down there, the trash room gets messed up pretty fast after they clean it.

In addition to being downright smelly and disgusting, a “trashed” trash room has a negative impact on realtors with prospective buyers see the area. It give the impression of a poorly maintained building, which may lead to a lost sale, or a sale at a lower price, which affects the property values for all of us. In other words, there is a financial reason to take better care of the trash room!

Please adhere to the following guidelines when putting things in the trash room:

1. Use quality plastic trash bags and tie them tightly before you throw them in the trash compactor.
   
2. Use common sense when deciding what should or should not go into the trash compactor. Hazardous materials do not belong in the trash compactor and need to be disposed of properly.
   
3. Do not throw furniture or other things left over from your move in the trash room.
   
4. Do not drop anything on the floor. If you see something on the floor, please pick it up and place it where it belongs.
   
5. Break down your boxes so that they are flat before placing them on top of the trash compactor.
   
6. Be diligent about only placing materials in the recycle bins that belong, according to the label on top of the bin.
   
7. VERY IMPORTANT – For security purposes, please ensure that the loading dock door is closed at all times. We have had problems in the past where people off the street have gained access to the building through this door. A few weeks ago, we also had the trash compactor vandalized.
   

Chase Milbrandt
Vice President