TUESDAY AUGUST 4, 2009
11:00 AM

The city plans to implement the new residential garbage service about September 1, 2009. The truck has been completed. We could take delivery at almost anytime. Before we take delivery the city plans to distribute the rules regarding the placement and proper alignment of the can on the street. We plan to do this at least two weeks before we start using the new truck.

The plans are if the carts are not placed properly, the can will not be emptied. I know this will cause citizens to call the sanitation department. We know this and are prepared to deal with the calls. The calls will give us an opportunity to tell the citizens how the cart must be placed on the street. The local radio station has already interviewed me about this change, but there are a number of residents that do not listen to the local station or read the local paper.

The company that we purchased the truck body from will be here to develop routes for this new truck. The days will not change, but the time of day the cart is emptied will change. This will be implemented to most efficiently use the new truck. I also know that this small change will cause a number of calls. Citizens are used to having the truck come by about the same time each week. The time the cart is emptied will change, but not the day. Our instructions are the cart must be on the street by 7:00 AM of the day of pickup. The rules also state that the cart should be removed from the street by 6:00 PM on trash day. I think that the new system will be more efficient that the old system and we will not have employees on the back of a truck in all kinds of weather.

Last week I sent the city council members a memo about class three trash removal. The city cannot remove the amount of trash that is placed on the street on a consistent basis. We are going to have to make some changes or continue to deal with angry citizens who are calling the sanitation department. I presented the council members with some possible solutions and also asked for their input. They may have a much better solution than me. I have only heard from two members as I write this blog. I hope that we can reach a solution to this problem and solve it at the next council meeting.