Leaves may make Auburn a beautiful place in the fall, but they have also become the object of frustration for city officials and residents.
The city is having some issues instituting its relatively new leaf pickup system. Many of the residents are not complying with the regulation asking them to bag their leaves.
Until a few years ago, the city policy was to use front-end loaders to collect leaves that are piled along the street. But people have still been piling leaves on the street despite the change to a bag system.
Between 50 and 60 percent of citizens have been bagging their leaves this fall, Public Works Superintendent Jerry DelFavero said Tuesday. That's more than last year, but less than ideal, he said.
“It is an education process,” DelFavero said. “Hopefully everybody can get on board, eventually.”
Crews spot the bags and pick them up on a case-by-case basis, according to the Department or Public Works. While there is no deadline for leaf pickup in the city, the job takes a back seat to snow removal in the winter.
The change was made to make the pickup process more efficient.
According to DelFavero, two crew members and a packer can collect 16 tons of leaves in a day. With the front-end loaders, the city is lucky to get half of that with twice the crew and three times the equipment, he said.
“It is a no-brainer, but it's hard to get people to change,” DelFavero said.
Not everyone at city hall is on board with the new policy, either. Councilor William Graney said he believes the city should look into making some sort of compromise. After researching other communities, Graney said he found most area cities do not have the residents bag their leaves.
“I think we're going backward with the program,” he said. “There are a lot of different avenues people are going with. I'd like to explore a bunch of them.”
Graney said it is inconvenient to have people bag the leaves, and it makes it more difficult for the city to compost the material. It is also more difficult for the city's older population to do the raking and lifting that goes into bagging leaves, he added.
But City Manager Mark Palesh said bagging leaves is a way for community members to help keep taxes down. This year, the city still sent a front-end loader to problematic parts of town, Palesh said. And workers have left fliers at houses where leaves were not bagged.
While the city has yet to issue fines for failure to comply, that could start to happen in coming years, Palesh said.
“We're committed to this at this point,” he said. “This is really the most cost-effective way to do it.”
Staff writer Christopher Caskey can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or christopher.caskey@lee.net
Until a few years ago, the city policy was to use front-end loaders to collect leaves that are piled along the street. But people have still been piling leaves on the street despite the change to a bag system.
Between 50 and 60 percent of citizens have been bagging their leaves this fall, Public Works Superintendent Jerry DelFavero said Tuesday. That's more than last year, but less than ideal, he said.
“It is an education process,” DelFavero said. “Hopefully everybody can get on board, eventually.”
Crews spot the bags and pick them up on a case-by-case basis, according to the Department or Public Works. While there is no deadline for leaf pickup in the city, the job takes a back seat to snow removal in the winter.
The change was made to make the pickup process more efficient.
According to DelFavero, two crew members and a packer can collect 16 tons of leaves in a day. With the front-end loaders, the city is lucky to get half of that with twice the crew and three times the equipment, he said.
“It is a no-brainer, but it's hard to get people to change,” DelFavero said.
Not everyone at city hall is on board with the new policy, either. Councilor William Graney said he believes the city should look into making some sort of compromise. After researching other communities, Graney said he found most area cities do not have the residents bag their leaves.
“I think we're going backward with the program,” he said. “There are a lot of different avenues people are going with. I'd like to explore a bunch of them.”
Graney said it is inconvenient to have people bag the leaves, and it makes it more difficult for the city to compost the material. It is also more difficult for the city's older population to do the raking and lifting that goes into bagging leaves, he added.
But City Manager Mark Palesh said bagging leaves is a way for community members to help keep taxes down. This year, the city still sent a front-end loader to problematic parts of town, Palesh said. And workers have left fliers at houses where leaves were not bagged.
While the city has yet to issue fines for failure to comply, that could start to happen in coming years, Palesh said.
“We're committed to this at this point,” he said. “This is really the most cost-effective way to do it.”
Staff writer Christopher Caskey can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or christopher.caskey@lee.net
