By Hunter Phipps | Fox21
(PUEBLO, Colo.) — For people who live in the Bessemer neighborhood in Pueblo, they say things seem to be getting worse as the days go by. It’s why they decided to take their concerns to Pueblo City Council Members and speak out during the council’s work session on Monday evening.
“It’s all over town from each and everybody’s district, we need our city back,” said Betty Finley, a resident who lives in the Bessemer neighborhood.
One neighbor speaking out feels like more and more problems like drug use and trash are showing up, and feels helpless when trying to find anyone to help.
“Right next door to us is another drug house, and it’s a revolving door for the homeless in and out, there’s people living in that backyard,” another neighbor who spoke out to council said.
Finley also claims that empty houses are also being set on fire.
“I’ve talked to many fire chiefs on this and they’re scared. That’s going to happen everywhere in our town,” Finley said.
Councilmember Joe Latino agreed with the people who spoke out, adding he was seeing the same problem in his neighborhood.
“You go to the 7-Eleven over there and there’s 15, 20, 25 of them there every single day, and I go in there at 11:00 or 12:00 at night or 12:00 in the morning,” Latino said.
The people who spoke out want more law enforcement presence or other community resources in the Bessemer neighborhood to combat the issues people are seeing. But council members told those who spoke out that there was only so much they could do.
“We put out the ordinances, we put out the laws, the codes and things that gives the mayor the authority to exercise all the enforcement through her police department,” said council member Regina Maestri. “We don’t have a role in that.”