"I know the city is very busy trying to restore electricity," said Roland Saucedo, a Sunset Acres resident who organized the neighborhood cleanup. "I know there’s going to be a delay in cleanup [by the city]."
Saucedo's efforts to help the community began as Hurricane Harvey made its way up the Gulf coast Thursday toward Texas. He said he heard people were looking for sand bags to place in front of their doors in case of flooding, so he and other volunteers contacted Hays County and began filling and distributing the bags.
"From there, [I said] 'let’s go ahead and start cleaning up our city,'" he recalled.
Saucedo said he drove around the city Sunday identifying areas where yard debris needed to be picked up. He then called for volunteers to help on Facebook and said he got an "overwhelming response."
His Facebook post caught the attention of the city's resource recovery department staff, who offered to loan the city's beautification trailer typically used for cleanup events. The trailer includes yard tools and supplies such as gloves and biodegradable bags.
Saucedo said he expected 20-30 volunteers Monday and more throughout the week. On Monday afternoon, volunteers included San Marcos City Council members Melissa Derrick and Lisa Prewitt, Mayor John Thomaides as well as Elizabeth Bryant and Erin Zwiener, who are both running for House District 45, which includes Kyle, Wimberly, Dripping Springs and parts of San Marcos.
For Zwiener, Bryant and volunteer Alyssa Garza, cleanup efforts after severe storms are nothing new in San Marcos.
While picking up large branches from homes in the Sunset Acres neighborhood Monday, they recalled the damage done by the Memorial Day and Halloween floods of 2015 and the most recent storm in April.
The San Marcos beautification trailer outside organizer Roland Saucedo‘s home Monday.[/caption]"We just all got out, put our rain boots on and said, 'Who needs us?'" Garza said.
Heather Wooten, the resource recovery program coordinator for San Marcos, said the city received numerous calls regarding cleanup efforts.
"We are still getting a feel for what all is out there," she said of the debris. "We're still looking and assessing.
In a Monday afternoon Facebook post, Thomaides stated he was "humbled" to see "neighbors helping neighbors."
"You don't have to go back very far to recall severe rain events that devastated our region and city," he wrote. "As your mayor, committing to a future of action through climate change initiatives is one of my top priorities, as storms are likely to continuously break records and disrupt our quality of life."
Saucedo told Community Impact Newspaper Monday night after the first volunteer day that he wants to continue cleanup efforts in other neighborhoods this week.
"It was a huge success," he said. "This is what it's about. It's about the community coming together for a cause."
Here are ways to get rid of yard debris in San Marcos:
- Any vegetative debris that is smaller than 5 inches in diameter can be put in residents' green waste cart and paper yard bags.
- Residents can pick up paper yard bags at 401 E. Hopkins St., limit four per residence.
- Residents can put as many paper yard bags as they would like next to their green waste cart on service day.
- The city's brush drop-off facility, 750 River Road, will be open 8 a.m.-7 p.m. Aug. 29-Sept. 1 and 8 a.m.-4 p.m Sept. 4-8.
Want to volunteer? Call Roland Saucedo at 512-938-2596.
