TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - People who live in a troubled neighborhood are getting help from the City of Tallahassee.
Lighting, streets and crime prevention were the main focus of a community meeting Tuesday night between police, Tallahassee city officials and people living in the Renegade subdivision. The issues in the Jackson Bluff area are not new.
"My house personally has been broken into back in January," said Logan Pyle, a homeowner in the Renegade Subdivision. "There are a lot of flooding problems, the roads have huge potholes in them. It's almost impassible."
Part of the problem is that the neighborhood is privately owned. That means improving lighting and roads is the responsibility of homeowners, not the city.
But there's another issue: "There are very few other homeowners that actually live in the area or even live in the state. Most of it is renters and rental companies," said Pyle. "We can't afford $3 million to pay for new streets."
People in the area have been investing in home security and discussing their concerns online, but if they want to see real change, city officials say they'll have to band together in real life.
"What makes it difficult and more challenging is the fact that they don't have an organized homeowner's association or the ability to leverage dues that would pay for the improvements they're seeking," said Cynthia Barber, Assistant City Manager, City of Tallahassee. "We're here to encourage them and we also want to work with them to organize a crime watch."
"That is probably the most likely thing to happen," said Pyle."We're really tired of being broken into and victimized and I think renters can get behind that."
"I'm very confident that working with the neighborhood and everybody stepping up and putting in some work, that we can get this addressed," said Barber.
City officials are also working to take care of code violations in the area. The hope is that cleaning up the yards and homes will help deter criminals, sending a message that people in the community care and are watching out for each other.
