City Council Is Back Talking Trash
The Oskaloosa City Council for September 17, 2012
The city of Oskaloosa may soon be receiving bids from garbage companies to begin collecting all residential garbage in Oskaloosa.
The council met at a work session Monday to discuss if it wanted to move towards a single hauler in Oskaloosa. All seven council members said they would like to move forward with the process, but no decisions are being made yet.
Currently, there are several garbage haulers in Oskaloosa and there have been complaints about too many garbage trucks going down residential streets daily.
City Manager Michael Schrock presented his findings on current rates. Rates vary – about $15/month for just waste pick-up or about $18-$20/month for waste and recycling pick-up.
According to Schrock, residents of the city of Pella, which uses a single hauler for all its residential pick-up, pay $12.62/month for a 35-gallon garbage can and recycling bin. A 65-gallon can costs $15.22/month, a 95-gallon can costs $18.35/month.
Schrock said he’s going to complete the bid request to present for council approval at the next city council meeting. If approved, the city will then begin collecting bids from garbage companies. The bid process does not ensure the city will move to a single hauler.
Other city business included:
– The consent agenda was approved and gave The Cellar Peanut Pub permission to host an outdoor party on October 27th from 1 to 11 PM. The event will close B Avenue East from North Market to North 1st Street.
– The meeting held the second reading of a new code pertaining to golf carts. The new code would allow carts to park on public streets, along with other new rules.
– The council approved a third and final reading for changes to some code regarding some intersections. The vote approves adding stop signs to an intersection by Webster School where many preschool and daycare programs are held. The ordinance will also remove some stop signs at less-traveled intersections in the area.
– Staff also suggests changing S 7th and 3rd Avenue East, as well as S 7th and High Avenue, from 4-way intersections to 2-way intersections. This was only the first reading about these stop signs. The council discussed waiving the second and third readings but did not vote to approve it.
– According to Schrock, starting the first weekend in October, the Oskaloosa snow dump will remain open until sunset on weekends due to higher demand for leaf dumping in the fall.
