It’s bad enough when residents give cause for city workers to spend resources cleaning up blight but one commercial property owner’s failures tied up Code Enforcement and Public Works Street Division employees for hours last week cleaning up his property.

On Thursday the city workers descended on the defunct Triple R gas station at the northwest corner of Mitchell Road and Whitmore Avenue cleaning up the blighted site.

The city obtained an abatement warrant signed by a judge on August 18 to enter the property to address longstanding blight and nuisance conditions. They painted over graffiti caused by local hoodlums, clearing overgrown weeds and vegetation, trimming landscaping bushes and pressure washing and cleaning the property.

The vacated site has been the target of vandals and homeless persons. It’s also been the subject of public scorn on social media as well as continuous cleanup efforts by good samaritans.

The city is pursuing to capture the costs of city staff time and materials by placing a lien against the property.

“This cleanup was a long time coming and represents an important step toward improving the appearance and condition of this property,” the Ceres Police Department said in a social media posting.