July 8, 2004

Council OKs a ‘fall’ cleanup

There will be a spring cleanup this year, although it will take place during a different season: fall.

At its meeting Monday, Village Council agreed to reinstate the community cleanup event as well as start a new brush and leaf pickup program, which will be managed by Rumpke, the Village’s solid waste hauler. Council did not vote on the decision.

The action comes a month after Council approved a new three-year contract with Rumpke. The contract includes garbage collection and curbside recycling. Customers continue to pay for solid waste collection through a tiered system based on usage: up to 30 gallons, 60 gallons and 90 gallons of waste collected per week. The system also includes tiers of 120 gallons, 150 gallons and 180 gallons, for commercial customers and apartments.

The cost of a cleanup event and brush pickup are not factored into customers’ garbage bills, so both services will cost extra.

The cleanup event will cost approximately $9 a household, Village Manager Rob Hillard told Council. All eligible customers will be billed for the event, regardless of whether they participate, he said. Council agreed to assess the cleanup fee the month the event is held.

Council members also stressed that brush chipping, which took place in conjunction with spring cleanup, will no longer be associated with the cleanup event.

Instead, the Village will now offer a new brush and leaf service based on usage. Local residents will be able to purchase for $1.50 biodegradable paper bags for leaves, grass clippings and bundles of brush. The bundles would be limited to four feet by four feet, weighing less than 50 pounds. The bags would be available at the Village utility window in the Bryan Community Center.

Rumpke would collect the bags and tagged bundles, which must be left out on customers’ front lawns, on the last Friday of the month. The service would be provided April through November. Yard waste would be recycled into fertilizer.

After the meeting, Village Manager Rob Hillard said that the Village hopes to start offering the yard waste service this month, though it may not be launched until August.

Last year, Council suspended spring cleanup and the brush chipping service to save money in the Village solid waste fund. At that time, the cost of both activities were not factored into the Village garbage rates because when Council approved the rates in 1999, the general fund paid for spring cleanup and brush chipping. Eventually, the Village began paying the services through the solid waste fund, causing the fund to sink into the red.

—Robert Mihalek