City council member Neal Riley asked March 17 during the regular council meeting for an update on the reopening of the city or convenience center, formerly known as the dump.
Street and alley director Justin Woldridge said that some work – namely reconnecting the electrical service to the scale house and the convenience center building – had been accomplished, but there was still a way to go on full operation.
The location, he said, would basically be reopened once the construction of the wastewater treatment plant nearby had been completed That short delay may be a blessing in disguise, since operation of the convenience center was not included in this year’s city budget. The completion date and final payment on the construction arrives in June, the same time the new budget is rolled out.
That would allow the convenience center operations to be included in the budget and the location to be reopened in July or August.
The city will hold its annual cleanup the week of April 13-17, a bit earlier than in other years so as to avoid conflicting with the Kiwanis Trail Ride and Bikes and BBQ and the added traffic those events bring to the town. The city is also working on a special cleanup in designated areas that will be undertaken by volunteers and city employees using city equipment. See sidebar story at left.
The cleanup will be accomplished by Veteran Waste Solutions and will feature curbside pickup rather than the familiar roll offs.
The roll off placement, Woldridge said, has cost up to $19,000 in some years, far more than the $4500 flat fee Veterans will charge.
Residents are to place their items next to their poly carts on the side of the street at their regular trash pickup time.
Veterans will NOT pick up appliances that contain freon – freezers, refrigerators or air conditioners – oil, acid or caustic material, bricks, dirt or rocks, nuclear waste, propane tanks, lubricants, tire rims, anti-freeze, auto frames, rust remover, sheetrock or roofing material, medical waste, poisons, explosives, sewage or liquid wastes, gasoline, kerosene or other fuels, degreasers, tires, brake fluid or batteries, crankcases or transmissions, pool chemicals, fertilizer or commercially collected grass or tree trimmings as in a lawn or tree service scenario.
However, residents can free themselves of appliances that do not use freon -think dead washing machines – furniture like the couch Aunt Tillie slept on all winter, carpets, mattresses, broken down cardboard boxes, fencing up to four cubic yards, and tree limbs cut into 4-ft lengths and bundled. Veterans will also pick up DIY remodeling waste, provided it is reasonably contained.
According to Woldridge, each household can place up to four cubic yards of large items out for collection. That amounts to about eight poly carts worth.