LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – A Lubbock homeowner says the city’s Solid Waste Department has repeatedly damaged his property.
Jeremy Bowen lives in Central Lubbock. He says city trash trucks have damaged his fence for more than a year, to the point that it no longer has structural integrity.
“They set the dumpster against a pole and it bent back and split the fence. The wood is separating,” Bowen explained while giving us a tour of the damage. “Not only that, they set the dumpster on the top of our water valve and we didn’t have access to it. They also cracked the concrete.”
When that first instance occurred, Bowen said he contacted the city and crews moved the dumpster.
Despite that report, he says the damage continued. Bowen claims the city told him to trim a tree hanging over his fence. He did, only to have his dumpster scraped against the bark anyway.
“They scraped the dumpster down the tree and hit a pole. It pushed it so far back that it split the top cap in half,” Bowen said.
Bowen said he again reported concerns to the Solid Waste Department and was told crews would replace the top cap and straighten the pole. Instead, Bowen says crews merely screwed it back together.
“That’s not replacing it. The integrity of my fence has been extremely compromised,” Bowen said.
Bowen tells us he had two different fence companies come assess the damage. One company quoted him $2,000 to replace it; the other quoted him $3,000.
“We don’t have the money to repeatedly pay for our fence to get fixed,” Bowen said. “I’m concerned it will happen again if we get it fixed. What’s the likelihood they’re going to start being more careful?”
We reached out to the Solid Waste Department requesting an interview about the repairs process. Instead, we were sent a list of instructions.
Lubbock homeowner accuses Solid Waste Department of repeated damage(KCBD Staff)
Then, we told Bowen to reach out to his city councilman, David Bruegel. Bruegel represents District 3.
“Our objective is to repair it to its original condition. With Mr. Bowen’s fence, for example, we were able to fix the poles and wood that were damaged and we will fix the concrete that’s damaged as well,” Bruegel said.
Bruegel said the city cannot realistically replace entire fences.
“We can’t go and buy a new fence for everybody in town; we would run out of money real quick,” Bruegel said. “So what we need to do is use [the money] in the most responsible way we can to remedy the issue. That’s by going in and repairing what needs to be repaired.”
Bruegel said Solid Waste is usually able to handle any requests, and this was the first time Bowen’s situation crossed his desk.
“When something becomes a major issue and needs my attention, they’ll bring it to my attention,” Bruegel said.
We noted Bowen had reached out to Solid Waste several times and asked what constituted a ‘major issue’.
“Unfortunately, when you run an organization of this size, there will periodically be issues like this where a resident just needs to reach out to their member of council,” Bruegel said. “The process worked appropriately here.”
Bowen told us he and Bruegel agreed on a solution, and crews began working on his house Wednesday.
As much as he wanted his property fixed, Bowen said his main goal was to solve for every homeowner in Lubbock who may be dealing with the same issue.
“It’s just not right. Maybe some of those homeowners have the money to get it fixed, but what happens if it happens to them again? It’s not fair – whether they have the money or not – for their private property to continually be damaged and for them to have to foot the bill,” Bowen said.
So, we asked Councilman Bruegel whether there was a solution that could be reached with the Solid Waste Department and its trash crews.
“Unfortunately, it’s inherent in what we do; we’re working with giant equipment in very narrow alleys,” Bruegel said. “We’re going to have some damage to a fence or a sidewalk. The best we can do is fix that as it comes up and address it quickly.”
Bruegel added he’s happy to help any residents in his district experiencing similar issues. He suggests everyone in town familiarize themselves with their council members and reach out to them too.
Claims can be filed at mylubbock.us.
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