CITIZENS NUISANCE TASK FORCE
With support from Court Street Village Non-Profit Housing Corp, The Citizens Nuisance Task Force (CNTF) was formed in 2002 by citizens from several Flint neighborhoods to help clean up the city. These are the CNTF accomplishments:
2003-2005: The “Clean Flint Initiative” had 1,745 volunteers from 115 organizations removed 3,545 tons of garbage from Flint neighborhoods. Dumpsters and City of Flint trash vehicles were donated to aid in the clean-up over 52 weeks.
August, 2006: CNTF worked with the Community Challenge Visual Change Group to find a more effective code-enforcement system. In collaboration with City of Flint officials, in 2006 a new civil infraction system was adopted to handle ordinance violations through a civil process.
September, 2006: The CNTF began to develop a “Graffiti Hurts Flint” campaign. The campaign
dealt with the education, eradication and enforcement of graffiti vandalism in the City of Flint.
March, 2007: A “Graffiti Hotline” was introduced on March 3rd at the Keep Genesee County Beautiful Conference. This is a referral-and-removal effort that we expect to last through 2008. That number is 810 767-2683.
On May 12, 2007 CNTF established a “Graffiti Free Flint Day” where 15 graffiti buster teams removed graffiti from over 200 locations within 6 hours. These committed volunteers continued their efforts beyond that day and as a result, graffiti has been removed from a total of 641 locations throughout the city.
Plans for 2008: In 2007, the CNTF reported 41 locations to Building & Safety Inspection for civil infraction violations, 10 Flint School District buildings were referred to the District’s Administration, 7 vandalized brick buildings in city parks were referred to the City of Flint Parks & Rec department director, and 26 vandalized street signs were referred to the Transportation Department for replacement. In May, 2008, all the referred sites will be surveyed to assess the level of compliance.
The 2008 agenda also includes expanding our graffiti campaign by developing a Flint Mural Arts Project to engage residents, businesses, property owners and community organizations to design and install community-based murals at locations that are repeatedly vandalized with graffiti.
The CNTF has received the following awards:
2003 Human Relations Commission “Mayor’s Choice Award”
2004 Neighborhood Associations of Michigan “Community Asset Award”
2005 Keep Genesee County Beautiful “Tall Oak Award”
2006-2007 Salem Housing “Community Impact Award”
2007 Keep Genesee County Beautiful “County Clean-Up Award”
The Citizens Nuisance Task Force does not have a membership fee and meetings are open to anyone who lives in Genesee County. Please call Steve Wall at 810 767-7008 if interested in participating in meetings or volunteering for upcoming projects.
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