The Poplarville board of aldermen discussed at its last board meeting the problems associated with area citizens carelessly placing advertising signs and banners around town.

City leaders are now asking citizens to be more responsible regarding these advertisements on road rights-of-way and to make sure their signs are only posted on private property.

Code Enforcement officer Guy Ray Holston apprised the aldermen of the continuing problem of unwanted and illegal signs placed in rights-of-way along city streets and state highways. City leaders are asking citizens to simply stop putting signs in these rights-of-way because of the added time it takes for city employees to take up these signs.

Holston said one problem is involves people driving metal fence posts into the ground to support banners. This practice is particularly unacceptable because of the extra time it takes to pull up these stakes, he said.

The mayor and board of aldermen are asking local citizens to comply with city ordinances and state law and refrain from placing these signs on roads and leaving them.

Citizens may only place signs on private property — never on rights-of-way. If the practice continues, the city may begin citing individuals and groups or business owners for violations.

In the interest of its citizens, the city also has been pursuing the cleanup of blighted properties within Poplarville’s city limits. More than five years have passed since Katrina ravaged the region and the city is being more diligent regarding the cleanup of properties.

Last month, after many efforts in asking the homeowner to do something regarding his condemned home on North Main, the city had the home removed and the property cleaned.

The action was in response to neighbors complaining about the health hazard posed by the dilapidated building and seeing raccoons and other small wild animals living in the home.

In such instances when the city is forced to clean up a piece of property, the cost of cleanup is assessed to the property owner’s taxes.