Practice curbside manners or face fines

NORTH TOPSAIL  BEACH - North  Topsail Beach officials are cracking down on curbside containers.

Property owners will be fined $50 for each instance a garbage container is in the right of way outside of collection hours, which the town defines as from noon the day before a regularly scheduled collection until 10 a.m. the day after collection. Owners will receive one written warning before being fined.

North Topsail Beach aldermen unanimously passed the ordinance regulating street-side placement of garbage containers for collection and established fines for violations at its July 3 monthly meeting.

Town Manager Henry Luxem said a part-time town employee will be handling the enforcement of the new mandate and said enforcement will be phased in with multiple reminder warnings over a two-week period before fines will be levied. He added that the town will also place warning stickers on cans, and violators will receive letters in the mail.

Since most property owners do not reside in the town and most properties are short-term rentals, the responsibility and management will lie with many rental management companies.

Treasure Realty manager Isaac Baker said the company will add employees to oversee the trashcans of its rentals.

 "We're going to have to hire two people to pull in trash cans the day before and after the pick-ups, since we really can't rely on the renters," Baker said. "Our inspectors will have to pull back the cans on Saturday as part of their responsibility now too."

Treasure Realty's maintenance and inspection manager Steven Foley said a $2 a week fee will be charged to property owners to cover the expense of adding staff to move the cans to and from the curb.

 "We will have to pass the cost on to property owners - it's a very minimal charge of $2 a week," Foley said. "There is still no guarantee guests won't pull it right back out to the curb, even though we also have instructions on the top of the cans and in the informational packages we give each renter - it's a logistics problem for us no matter what."

Trash during summer peak tourist season in North Topsail Beach is picked up on Tuesdays and Fridays. Baker and Foley both said they would prefer if one of the pick-ups was scheduled on Saturdays, since Saturday is exchange day on island rentals.

 "This is a resort community. Tuesdays have not been a big issue, but we wish North Topsail Beach would lobby to have trash day on Saturday, since people tend to empty their refrigerators and trash right before they leave on Saturday, then the can is full for the next renters, so often they move it to the street to avoid the smell from the garbage until Tuesday," Foley said. "Sometimes we get a call the trash is full and we have to send someone to get it and take it away at our expense."

Property owners Jeff and Therese Kurszewski said they will have to rely on their rental management company, Century 21 Action Realty, to see they do not get fined.

 "We live in California and rent our property out during the summer; we really don't have any contact with the renters," Jeff Kurszewski said. "The management company should be responsible if we get fined - they should be on top of it. It is their responsibility to inform the renters and make sure they are following the rules; that's what we pay them to do."

The Kurszewskis said they would not be opposed to having to pay a reasonable additional fee to their rental company so they can keep their property in compliance with the new ordinance.

"I think it is very reasonable to pass a fee for the service on to the owners, and we can pass it on to the renters," Therese Kurszewski said.

Tony Preston said he lives in Shipwatch where there are very few full time residents.

"What will people do who don't have someone to pull their cans back for them? I am not a full-time resident, and when I leave it's a problem finding someone to move my can back for me since there are so few who live here," he said. "Maybe that would be a good business for someone to start. They could charge an annual fee and it would help everyone who has the same problem."

The Kurszewskis said they believe the excess trash left outside of the cans is another problem the town needs to address.

"If you drive around you will see so many bags of garbage and excess trash lying around outside the cans. The town really needs to get the property owners to purchase more cans since many of these homes are very large and can accommodate large numbers of renters in each home - one or two cans is just not enough," Jeff Kurszewski said.

Luxem said the town has been enforcing its ordinance regarding loose trash bags and other trash placed outside of the cans.

"We do not allow garbage to be placed outside of cans," he said. "We have been going around taking pictures of repeat offenders and are sending letters requiring them to remit $130 for an additional tote and charging a nuisance fee. We know this has been a real problem and there are a lot of violators, and we're dealing with it."