ELMIRA, N.Y. (WENY) -- A letter on behalf of the Friends of the Chemung River Watershed has made its rounds on social media, calling out blight in the City of Elmira.  At Monday's packed city council meeting, about a dozen people stood up to weigh in on the letter.  The overwhelming response was that the community agrees that change needs to happen. 

"Lets do 'the more' together," said a community member who stood up at the meeting.

The Friends of the Chemung River Watershed posted their open letter over the weekend.  It details homeless encampments, trash littering the streets, and overgrown conditions all over the city.  The majority of the people who spoke at the city council meeting agreed that the city needs to do something to fight the blight.

"We inherited a lot of these problems. It's not our fault, but it's our responsibility to do something about it. Don't kick the can down the road. Don't pass it on to somebody else, and it can be done," said one speaker at the meeting.

"For all of us as community members, members, whether we are a part of that organization directly or by proxy, we are all guardians of that river," said another man who spoke at the meeting.

One woman said she feels the community needs to be more involved in city council meetings, and was not happy with the way the letter was presented.

"I am extremely offended by it. I read it, and it started out good, but then it turned into nothing for me, other than a money grab."

The letter mentions specific areas, the Centertown Parking Garage, Riverfront Park, and the Clemens Center Parkway Bridge among them.  These happen to fall in District Two, Councilman Corey Cooke's district.  He says he wants to partner with the Friends of the Chemung River Watershed to do something about the blight.

"We need all the help in the hands that we can get. So, I think partnership and collaboration should be more what we're focusing on. We hear what the problem is. Now let's get up, get together and put our heads together and try to work up a solution," said Cooke.

Elizabeth Zilinski, the Executive Director of the Friends of the Chemung River Watershed said she wrote the letter, which was later posted to Facebook by the founder of the River Friends, to bring attention to parts of the city that needed to be cleaned, maintained, or picked up.

"If there's not enough resources in the city itself, we have people who are willing to step up and do it. but our organization can't do it without help from the city," said Zilinski.

Zilinski said she's more than willing to work with the city to help clean up places like Riverfront Park. Mayor Mandell said they would have to sit down and figure out how to move forward.

"We're always looking for people to partner with us because we only have so much staff that can maintain our 30 or so parks. so anybody that wishes to step up and volunteer, we're all open arms about that," said Mayor Mandell.

On a related note, City Manager Mike Collins said an update about the city newsletter is expected on Tuesday.  He said the bi-weekly newsletter will help with more open communication between the council and the people who live in the City of Elmira, which he says will be helpful in situations like these.