This is just a rundown of thoughts after watching the meeting…I’ve been listening to community feedback regarding the garbage/recycling pickup and rate changes during tonight’s city council meeting and these are the main issues I think need addressed before changes are made:

One size fits all plans and rates isn’t a fair way to bill or provide service to residents.  Some only need once a week service; some need twice a week service.  Some people have lots of yard waste to dispose of; others don’t.  Some people can manhandle the large, heavy totes and others can’t.  They are cumbersome to move around because I’ve had one for almost 15 years and dragging it up and down a driveway situated on a hill is not easy and impossible during bad winter weather.  I just leave mine in the front yard year round and carry the garbage to it.  It’s also very hard to pick up when the garbage hauler tosses it down into the ditch.  I have a hard time getting it back upright because I’m not that tall.  Even with all that, I can live with the big totes, as annoying as they may be.

I can’t believe yard waste issues and leaves (leaves!) are being so hotly discussed at another council meeting still in 2010.  We really should put our heads together and get this worked out.  One gentleman brought up the issue that yard waste would only be picked up in November at no extra charge under the new proposal. During other months a $1.50 sticker per yard waste bag or can would be charged. Well, November can be real nasty.  It can turn cold fast and stay cold.  Trying to rake or dispose of leaves in such weather would cause many to not do anything with their leaves.  Personally, I just mulch my leaves with the lawn mower a couple times in the Fall and it takes care of the problem.  I never rake!  I hate raking. I know some people won’t do that and prefer to bag – expanding the free pickup months from October-November makes sense.

The justification for the price increase still hasn’t been explained well to me.  This seems like it benefits the garbage haulers 100% and the residents 0%.  If anything costs should go down.  I also think attaching the fee to municipal water bills is going to cost the city more in the long run – $140,000 a year more just for mailing expenses alone.  Clearly more thinking needs to go into this.

The one thing I’m probably at odds with against  many of those who spoke against the entire proposal was the recycling portion.  I don’t think the city voiced well enough why we need to recycle more.  It is very costly to expand or create a new landfill.  We would be paying that bill eventually.  Doing nothing isn’t going to solve the fact that, unless we begin to recycle considerably more, we’re going to have to trash up more of our land.  I don’t understand why people would be so mad that they wouldn’t even entertain the thought of recycling garbage.  That part baffles me but people are funny.

So, I would suggest customizable service plans for customers, reducing rates (Waste Management which has been running a pilot once a week pickup program in the city stated at the meeting that they have saved considerable money and could charge in the $14 range easily and be profitable – $2 below what the city is proposing), revamping yard waste regulations and costs and educating the public better about the benefits both environmentally and economically of recycling.

They have their job cut out for them, as one gentlemen acknowledged at the meeting.

City management has suggested changes in garbage and recycling pickup costs, schedules and billing cycles.  Once a week service will be provided, cut down from twice a week pick up.  Recycling fees, which are charged on Decatur city resident’s water bill, will increase from $1.65/month to $4.61/month.  It’s hoped that changing some of the rules regarding recycling pickup will encourage more residents to use the service.  Currently only about 15% of residents do.  Details about the changes haven’t been revealed yet about easing the recycling rules but I hope they are much simpler than the current ones.  Personally, I stopped recycling years and years ago because I couldn’t remember what exactly I supposed to do and if I didn’t do it right, the materials wouldn’t be picked up.  I hope that changes.

However, I am concerned about the once a week pickup for all residents.  That may be fine if a household is small but there’s many, many weeks when we’ve needed twice a week service.  Maybe recycling more will help offset the decreased service.  Increasing the rate for garbage hauling when the service provided is essentially going to be cut in half seems a hard sell to Decatur residents.  The new rate would be $16.50 a month with annual increases for the next five years.

The city council will be discussing this issue, along with other items during its Tuesday Sept. 7th meeting.  Read Entire Council Agenda

In a  press release from the City of Decatur, PSA Dewberry has completed its initial Decatur Police Department study and is recommending new construction in Wabash Crossing.

The Millikin/Regions building has been suggested in the past as a possible location, however the Millikin building’s owner has removed the building from consideration due to space constraints.  New tenants have moved into a portion of the building since the site was first considered, therefore not enough space remains for the police station.

The study is suggesting two phases.  The first phase would cost between $3.4 million and $3.9 million and would house the communications center, evidence storage, and crime scene unit.

The second phase is estimated to cost between $9.6 million – $11 million.

There would be costs savings, of about $300,000 if both phases were done at the same time.  The total cost of the new facility would be between $11M-$14.9M.  The cost of renovating the Millikin building is estimated at $12 million; however the long-term costs would be higher at the Millikin building because they city would have to pay leasing fees.  The city would own the new facility.

The entire police study can be found on the city’s Web site at:  http://decaturil.gov/council/councilagenda/Decatur%20Police%20Department%20Facility%20Study.pdf

The Decatur City Council will have a study session on the recommendations during Monday night’s meeting.  (Dec 21st)

Last night the Decatur City Council again discussed Decatur’s water issues.  The ongoing dredging progress which has been disappointingly drudging along for the past few years, with the use of a skeleton crew of city workers was under scrutiny.  It was estimated, at the time the previous council voted to use city workers to do dredging work on Lake Decatur, that approximately 300 acre feet of silt would be removed per year, however the real number has fallen well below that at about 170 acre feet.  About 110 acre feet of silt wash into the lake each year, so the crew is barely making much headway.

The city crew has been plagued by staffing issues, broken equipment, parts delays and other unforeseen difficulties.  However, a representative of the workers spoke to the council and disputed some of the numbers and doubted whether a professional firm would be able to do much better.  For instance, some basins of the lake have several tree stumps and other debris which makes it more difficult to dredge.  It’s estimated that a professional dredging company could remove as much as 600 acre feet of silt per year.  It may be hard to tell if we’re actually comparing apples to apples in the estimated progress a professional firm could do in comparison with an expanded city workforce.  It would depend which basin of the lake we’re talking about.  Basin 1 is fairly clear of stumps and debris and would be much easier to dredge; other basins may not go so smoothly.  At any rate, the city council advised city staff to move ahead with option 4, which would hire an outside firm to more quickly do the work. The project is expected to take five years.

However, the question of selling city owned dredging equipment came up.  Larry Foster very much supported the idea; Pat Laegeler showed a bit of reluctance.  Laegeler was on the previous city council which approved the city taking over dredging operations because he believed that dredging would be a “forever project.”  Personally, I think it would be wise for the city the keep its dredging equipment because it will forever be an ongoing maintenance issue, considering 110 acre feet of silt wash back into the lake each year.

It was also decided last night that the option of using the city’s lowest water intakes during a drought wouldn’t be cost effective.  The water treatment facilities that the city currently operates would not be capable of filtering such murky, muddy water.  The water would be unfit for drinking without a boil order.  The council will now look at horizontal wells below the dam as its next option to increase Decatur’s water supply during a severe drought.

I was just glancing through Decatur’s budget woes for tonight’s city council meeting and it looks like nearly every revenue stream for the city will miss the mark.  State sales tax may be down $840,000;  food and beverage taxes down; hotel & motel tax (which surprised me since the Farm Progress Show was this year) is also down; local sales tax is down; local use tax is down; utility tax (the cool Summer is to blame but I’m not complaining) is off from the projected budget; personal property replacement tax projected (not even sure what that is) to miss the budget by $400,000; sales income tax projected to miss the budget by $300,000.  Other revenue streams down: liquor licenses ($6,200) and interest incomes.  Bright spots are: court fines, building permits, telephone communications tax and cable TV tax. For a full list on the projected revenue streams go to: http://decaturil.gov/council/councilagenda/Item%20IV.pdf

First of all, WHOA we’re taxed for anything and everything!  Secondly, the national, state and local economies are stinking it up and making hard times for everyone – like that’s news to anyone.

Community goals will also be discussed: http://decaturil.gov/council/councilagenda/Item%20IV.pdf (beginning on page 35).  There are many interesting ideas and priorities listed; too many to list.  I recommend reading through it.  I’ll have more comments later.