FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FROM HOWELL MAYOR JOSEPH M. DIBELLA

Contact:
Joseph M. DiBella, Mayor
1-732-938-4500
MayorDiBella@twp.howell.nj.us
www.MayorDiBella.com
September 3, 2006

Help Keep Howell Clean

As the end of the summer draws closer, we are all getting back into our normal routines. One thing you’ll hopefully notice is that the township has cracked down on the number of menacing signs posted all over our community. In fact, as you travel all over our State we see an alarming number of signs along the roadways – posting everything from “get rich” schemes; to “making money over the internet” and how to “earn additional income without doing anything”. These signs clutter our roadways and our neighborhoods and make hurt the natural beauty of our community. Their days are over. This past month, our public works department collected nearly 600 of these illegal signs in a large scale “clean up” campaign. And we’re just getting started.
 
Candidly, we all have a responsibility to help keep our community clean. All too often we see roadside garbage thrown from passing cars or other debris that could easily be placed in trash receptacles. While the township has a first-rate public works and road department, with more than 200 miles of road to maintain, it is next to impossible to collect the garbage that often clutters the township. We have stepped up our efforts at enforcing the zoning laws that prohibit illegal signs and have begun to more routinely patrol areas most susceptible to litter. However, we need your help to maintain a clean Howell township. Accordingly, I’d ask that you keep the following tips in mind:
 
1)
       When you see garbage or litter in your neighborhoods, please pick it up and dispose of it in the right places. If there are large piles of debris, please call the township and report it immediately. If there are public parcels near where you live that are constantly littered upon, please report this to the township immediately;
 
2)
       If you are having a garage sale or real-estate open house, please be sure to collect any signs you have posted immediately following the event. If you see signs for events that have passed, please taken them down and dispose of them;
 
3)
       When you see signs posted on telephone poles (which are not permitted in Howell), please call town hall and report the location of the sign. If it is safe to do so, take the sign down yourself and dispose of it;
 
4)
       If you see these menacing road-signs for days on end (not on private property of course), please call the township so they can be removed. Repeat offenders may be fined and charged the cost of having to remove the signs;
 
Finally, please remember that the township provides UNLIMITED AND FREE CURB SIDE PICK UP for bulk items. You need to simply call the township to schedule a pick-up. Keeping our community clean is an important responsibility we all have. It is my hope that through continued awareness and diligence on all our parts we can ensure that Howell Township is not only one of the safest places to live but one of the cleanest places as well. As the fall draws near, please be on the look-out for “Neighborhood Clean Up” days where we hope to solicit volunteers in conjunction with our township employees to canvass large areas and reinforce our clean-up approach.
 
If I can be of any assistance to you on this or any issue, please contact me by phone or at MayorDiBella@twp.howell.nj.us.

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