When CoreCivic reopened the Diamondback Correctional Facility as a ICE detention center, the agreement came with an impact fee of $1 per detainee per day paid to the town. At full capacity, that could amount to some $175,000 per year of new income.
However, both the Watonga City Council and City Manager Leroy Alsup have been loathe to count those chickens before they are in the bank.
Instead, about half the anticipated income has been allocated, most going toward cleaning up the town.
At the July meeting, the council approved an agenda item that will provide three new bulk trash pickup days inside the city limits. This is in addition to the traditional annual cleanup held in April.
The additional days will allow residents to place bulk items, whether tree limbs and yard debris or other large items such as furniture, at their curbside close to the regular location of their poly carts. The items will be picked up by the city’s waste collection vendor, Veterans Waste Solutions. The bulk items can be up to the equivalent of two poly carts full.
In the event of a severe storm or other disaster, the city manager can also order an emergency cleanup.
The added bulk cleanup days are a step in the right direction, but many residents still are chagrined at the slow progress on cleanup. A major road block has been the closure of the convenience station, commonly referred to as the dump. It was shut down about two and a half years ago as a cost cutting measure, but one that has seemed penny wise and pound foolish, with the looks of town paying the price.
On top of the appearance going to pot, code enforcement has been sketchy since those who want to comply with violations have nowhere to get rid of the objectionable items. That has slowed the issuance of some violations.
City Manager Leroy Alsup has said it doesn’t seem right to ticket someone for a trash violation but leave them without somewhere to take the trash. “We want to get the transfer station open before we start code enforcement,” he told city council in July. During that discussion he also said the town was working to collect the old dumpsters littering alleys that are no longer used.
As of Monday, the city was in talks with two vendors which have expressed interest in reopening the convenience center. Alsup is in hopes one will be selected and an item to reopen the center can be placed on the August agenda.
The city is also in touch with vendors for street sweeping machines, an item long desired by the street and alley department.