Residents Complain Of Rat Sightings In Morristown Neighborhoods

MORRISTOWN, NJ — Residents of Morristown have spoken out, concerned about an increase in rat sightings in local neighborhoods.

During the Aug. 8 town council meeting, two residents both described their encounters with rats in their neighborhoods, despite the fact that their neighborhoods are kept clean and their homes are specifically free of trash.

Resident Thad Kobylarz stated that he found a dead rat on his front lawn, claiming that overflowing dumpsters at 41 Elm Street could be to blame.

Kobylarz asked the mayor to have a code enforcement officer look at the complex's dumpster the day before trash pickup in order to properly inspect the trash conditions.

The next to speak on the topic was resident John Creamer, who expressed his concerns as well. Creamer stated that around four weeks ago, he noticed a rat problem growing in his backyard.

"We keep our garbage all nice and sealed, but we'd be sitting there looking out the back window and see a rat come under a fence and scurry through and go back out the other way," Creamer said. "It's a problem that keeps popping up on our street, even though we are very tidy."

The two accounts told during this month's meeting are not the first signs of residents speaking out in concern about rodents in Morristown. Last June, Denville resident John Jones spoke about a growing issue on Grant Street.

"Grant, the surrounding streets too. If you go out at 4 a.m. and you go to Sussex Avenue off of Grant, the white house on the corner, you see rats playing with each other. It's a problem there. I come into Morristown early every morning, and garbage is ripped all over," Jones said.

According to Councilman Robert C. Iannaccone, the problem has been known to the council and administration, and a recent change to the garbage code was partially approved in an effort to address it.

The Morristown trash code was updated last year in response to a resident's complaint about the town law requiring the placement of curbside trash into receptacles.

Michael Quattro spoke to the council about a problem with the trash code's lack of clarity. Quattro had received a code enforcement notice, which resulted in the summons he was facing for putting garbage bags on the curb.

However, the Morristown garbage code only states that all trash must be placed in a garbage container, which is defined as a substantial metal or plastic container or a dark-colored plastic bag that is securely tied shut.

"It was more important in the more densely populated neighborhoods in town to keep rats from developing. I think we should probably start doing some checks on the dumpsters in the multifamily dwellings and commercial facilities," Iannaccone said.