If John's idea were viable, it would have already happened. There's nothing to stop people from doing it right now.
There is something Stopping people from doing it as I explained....
No One really knows their neighbors, no one really cares what goes on with their neighbors, they are more interested in their TV program, getting kids to school, working, living in their own world oblivious to the neighbors around them.... ( I even had a few say they liked GSE and want to see it continue, one had the gall to say that the smell they smelled was $$$$$ ).
Example: I have a cabin, I got when my grandfather past away, in a rural community. Now granted I knew 2 of the neighbors up there when I took control of the property. You know how long it took for the other neighbors to introduce themselves? About 2 weekends of us being at the cabin. Almost everyone of the them came by to see who it was that was moving into the place, wanted to meet their new weekend neighbors (surprise that most of them live in St Paul during the week). The neighbors go out of their way to help one another.... someone is doing some work they don't even have to ask for anyone to come help, they just show up. These are not just close by next door neighbors some of them are from as far as 1/4 to 1/2 mile away. I know more about my neighbors there than I do here, and they know more about me than my neighbors here know about me. THAT is a community.
I do recall a time, long ago when I was a kid, that the neighbors knew each other, had fun together (I still remember the neighborhood water fights we would have, kids against the adults). That is not happening in the city anymore... it may have to do with the transient nature of many who live in the city vs the "here to stay" people that are my neighbors at the cabin property. However even there we have had a number of people who have moved away and others take their place and I know more about the retired Anoka and Hennipen County police couple who moved in last year than I do my neighbor here who bought their property next door the same year I bought my home here.
We call ourselves a neighborhood and a community, but it's not cause for that to happen you have to know your neighbors (or at least their names).
At 3:45 PM -0500 8/26/04, Mike Fratto wrote:
However, it isn't happening because people don't care. its something the Community Councils could do, if there was interest.
BINGO!!!! The Community Councils could easily send out flyers or put info in the community papers about this sort of thing... I can visualize the ads now.... "Want to save money? Want to reduce the number of Garbage Trucks in your Alley? WE CAN HELP. Contact _______ for more info."
This of course wouldn't FORCE someone to use a particular hauler, but it would be a great incentive for them do join the "Trash Hauling Club".
It would also be a great incentive for the haulers to give price breaks cause they would be clearing a smaller area all at once vs the random nature that they use now. The Trash companies make more, cause costs are less, the people pay less cause the haulers are giving everyone a break to keep the business away from competitors.
It's a WIN WIN situation for everyone, but I am a lunatic who has no clue about how things can be done without government intervention yet still benefits everyone. :-)
--
Sincerely,
John Birrenbach
W 7th Neighborhood, St Paul MN
=== Political & Business Consulting ===
http://www.birrenbach.com/
======================================
"Six years on the council has trained me to feign interest for long periods of time"
Chris Coleman Jan 21, 2004
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