A discussion concerning community recycling options that began at the Jan. 22 Iola City Council meeting will continue Monday evening.
At the January meeting, council members agreed that the best option was to “start small.” They tasked city administration with investigating options such as roll-off containers, rather than starting a new recycling utility effort with curbside pickup.
City officials will present the council a proposed drop-off recycling program at Monday’s meeting. The program consists of four roll-off containers for plastics, cardboard, glass, and aluminum. The containers would be placed within city limits at a singular “to-be-determined” location.
After the containers are filled, they will be transported by a city-owned roll-off truck to a facility that accepts the material. City administration notes that it is not known where the material will go at this time.
The projected annual cost of the program would be $141,100. The estimated initial infrastructure investment for the roll-off truck and four containers would be $273,000. The program would also need to employ a full-time CDL driver and charge a $5 monthly fee per solid waste customer.
AT THE PREVIOUS council meeting, council member Jon Wells’ stance on the recycling matter stemmed from concerns with cost. He had noted that with the delay of the 54 Highway rebuild project due to a lack of funding, it does not make financial sense to spend money on a facility and curbside pickup. “There’s a lot more needs elsewhere in this community that we could spend that money on,” he said at the time. “It could go towards two or three splash pads, essentially. I think we could do better for the community with that money.”
Additionally, council member Joel Wicoff suggested it may be more plausible to have a drop-off location for recyclables instead of spending the money for curbside pickup. Council member Joelle Shallah agreed, noting that she would not be in favor of raising utility fees to have a pickup.
“I cannot even, in my own conscience, think to raise somebody’s utility bill $200 a year,” Shallah had said. She advocated for a county-led effort with city collaboration and proposed exploring drop-off containers as a starting point. Council member Josiah D’Albini agreed, saying he felt that recycling should be more of a county effort.
At the end of their discussion, council members had agreed that roll-off dumpsters placed at various locations in town would be the best option.
DURING MONDAY’S meeting, the council will also review city personnel policy revisions. Iola Human Resources Manager Carla Garrison presented the changes at the Jan. 22 meeting and is seeking approval of Resolution 2024-07, which will adopt the revisions. No additional changes have been made since the January meeting.
In round table discussion, the council will review a proposed ordinance concerning whether a dog is a nuisance, dangerous, or vicious. Following a discussion with the Municipal Court, Animal Control, and Iola Police Department, it was determined that a more definitive scale to make this determination was necessary.
The involved entities agree that the “Dog Bite Scale,” composed by Dr. Ian Dunbar, should be incorporated into the ordinance. The scale is widely accepted in law enforcement and court proceedings. The proposed ordinance will define not only the levels per the scale, it will also specity the steps necessary to ensure another incident of aggressiveness and biting does not occur.
The final item to be considered Monday will be a proposal for a warming center. The proposal designates specific city buildings as warming centers when temperatures are at or below 32 degrees. The two proposed centers and hours are the recreation building and the Dr. John Silas Bass North Community Center from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, at both locations.
At this time, the city cannot offer overnight warming centers. Overnight centers must have security personnel and offer certain amenities that the city does not currently have to offer.
The council will meet at 6 p.m., Monday, in the Riverside Park community building.
