Community Leaders Air Complaints About Debris Pick-Up

Mount Vernon District community leaders complained Wednesday about what they see as a slow response by Fairfax County to remove debris collected and placed on curbsides after the June 29 derecho.

At the monthly meeting of the Mount Vernon Council of Citizens’ Associations at , Mount Vernon District Supervisor Gerry Hyland listened to concerns about the county’s response. Hyland told Patch that he expects debris pick-up will be complete by the end of the week.

Queenie Cox, president of the New Gum Springs Civic Association, told Hyland she put brush and other debris by the roadside, but the brush was never removed. 

“They told me to separate the brush from everything else, and I did that and passed it on through the community, but they didn’t pick up the brush,” Cox said.

John Gordy, president of the Hollin Glen Civic Association, said he and neighbors had called the county multiple times.

“They keep saying, ‘We’re running short, we’re short-handed. We have additional trucks,’ ” he said. “But our neighborhood’s trashed up, and people are getting tired of it.”

Hyland said local residents do not need to call the county for debris collection. 

“They’re just picking up all of the debris in all the neighborhoods,” he said. “They’re just going through, and people don’t have to really call. The whole plan is to pick up all the debris that is out there from the storm. Anything that is along the roadway, they should be picking it up.”