Campbell Stops the Stink at Second Street Garage

As the Editor of Campbell Patch, I usually work in downtown Campbell at least twice a week, and I always park in the Second Street Parking Garage because there are always spaces in the early mornings, and because it gives me the chance to get some walking in. 

About a month ago, I noticed a pungent smell coming from the area in front of the elevators and garbage cans and thought, maybe, it was just me. But when after several weeks the smell not only was still there but got worse, I decided to give Campbell Public Works a call.

I spoke with John Iaquinto, interim public works supervisor about how often the garage is cleaned, and whether or not he had received any calls similar to mine.

Iaquinto says he has not received any calls about the garage or the smell, and that the garage is typically swept once a week by a commercial company.

According to the interim supervisor, calls or e-mails that come in go to the department's secretaries.

"They would then run these calls or e-mails through our computerized maintenance program, which sends an e-mail to the department supervisor that’s responsible for the area in question," Iaquinto says.

The day I called, I noticed a city of Campbell crew at the garage when I was leaving, assessing the situation. A few weeks later, I noticed the gentlemen in the photo washing down the corner inside of the garage, where they said the smell of urine was also prevalent.

Iaquinto speculated that there may be homeless people sleeping in the area in front of the elevator and if that was the case, Campbell Police would be notified.

Iaquinto also says that if there are similar issues that residents see, they should notify Public Works at 408-866-2145.

Are there other areas in town that have similar issues? Got a gripe that you want to get off your chest? Let us know in the comments below.