Backyard trash pick-up. Should this continue?

[Jim Marquard]

they are ugly cans. i still can't believe the mayor did this. all the money he is spending on the cans and the lease of the dragon trucks. all i see coming are complaints. did the mayor sign a 2 year lease on the trucks? it is doomed to fail. if the mayor wants lakewood to look like cleveland, he just took one step closer. i will miss back yard pick-up. i have no problem taking out the garbage or recycling to the front, did it as a kid and do it now, but the back yard pick up was nice to have and unique for the city to offer.
goodbye for now? hello ugly cans.

[Charlie Page]

When you bought your last trash can, did you say "wow, what a good lookin' trash can....I gotta have THIS one"?

Trash cans aren't meant to be pretty. They do their job and that's it. If you want to spruce them up, hire the artist who painted a few of the AT&T Lightspeed boxes.

For a family of 4, we have only a couple kitchen bags of trash a week, so I imagine we'll be hauling our can to the curb every other week. 26 times a year vs 52 times.

It would be nice if everyone gave this a chance to work before crucifying city hall.

[Danielle Masters]

No offense Charlie but I would not want to live next to someone that only has their trash cans emptied every other week especially in the summer heat. As a family of 7 we rarely have over two bags of trash but I will still be pulling our can out every single week.

[Jim O'Bryan]

For a family of 4, we have only a couple kitchen bags of trash a week, so I imagine we'll be hauling our can to the curb every other week. 26 times a year vs 52 times.

It would be nice if everyone gave this a chance to work before crucifying city hall.

Charlie

I have to agree with Danielle on this one.

Where do you get the 80 gallon kitchen bags?

As far as "the chance" and "crucifying city hall"

Crucifying
cru⋅ci⋅fy
  /ˈkrusəˌfaɪ/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [kroo-suh-fahy]
–verb (used with object), -fied, -fy⋅ing.
1. to put to death by nailing or binding the hands and feet to a cross.
2. to treat with gross injustice; persecute; torment; torture.


There are many things in this world that you cannot "give a chance" too. For once you take that chance it becomes nearly impossible to go back. I think this is why so many things get kicked around really hard in a democracy.

I think this is one of those things. By the time you are done buying everything, and setting everything up, could the city afford to go back?

With that said, Mayor Ed FitzGerald said this is the way it is, and I accept that and think more of him for the decision and the statement. The city could use more public officials like him.


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[Gary Rice]

Believe it or not, I agree with Jim on his point about Ed FitzGerald.

It takes courage to make hard choices, and Ed clearly has that courage.

We, as citizens, on the other hand, have the right and indeed, the responsibility to speak up whenever we have concerns about civic issues as they may arise.

As it seems that hundreds of people are now looking at this thread, I think it important that people know that when I first posted, there was no intent to be negative. That this thread did, and continues to hit a civic nerve would seem to be self-evident.

As more and more Lakewoodites start to realize what is going on with their garbage, I would imagine that the phone lines at City Hall will be buzzin'.

Yes, clear notices did go out about all this, but whether they were all read, who can say?


On a positive note though:

This 'Deck is a public forum, and fortunately, a great many people continue to be interested in what transpires here in Lakewood.

Many people mean well, including those with whom I disagree, concerning this particular topic and others.

The extent to which these postings may influence public opinion or policy positions, I cannot say.

But let us resolve not to let these disagreements degenerate into personal recriminations.

I'll guess I'll keep that banjo ringin'...for now.

[Dave Mechenbier]

I have no problem with people questioning a decision, and displaying passion while doing so. But over trash pick-up? Please. Now if the city were ending trash pick-up, that would be another story.

Has anyone asked their council rep or city hall how those who are unable to move the can to the front lawn will be accomodated? If I missed that post in the previous 13 pages I apologize.

Cuyahoga Falls must use a similiar system. My mother in law has a like size trash can at her place, and the city has retrieved it each week from her backyard while the neighbors have theirs on the tree lawn. Or is it a devils strip down there? No problems.

One other point. I don't know the city's workers comp experience but it only takes a single case with lost time, rehab then surgery to add up to serious dollars. I could see a lost time injury with back surgery easily reaching $50,000.

Lets give it a chance.

[Charlie Page]

No offense Charlie but I would not want to live next to someone that only has their trash cans emptied every other week especially in the summer heat. As a family of 7 we rarely have over two bags of trash but I will still be pulling our can out every single week.

Danielle - no offense taken. A couple years ago, our cushman driver would skip our house every other week. We didn't mind because the regular size can filled up after the second week. Properly bagged trash in a can with lid doesn't stink.

[Charlie Page]

[Missy Limkemann]

I fill 4 large garbage cans weekly. yep 4. I can only imagine what is going to happen now. UGH.

[Gary Rice]

Just to answer Dave's point...

Yes, residents who feel that they are unable to physically move these new trash bins should call the City, as there is indeed a provision for getting assistance.

Your point about employee injury is well taken too, but I would wonder about what will happen if a resident is injured while trying to move a can?

There are, after all, a whole lot more residents than there are employees. I'm sure the City would argue that since they offer alternative pick-up services, that those not supposed to move these things should not move them- but as long as we have a jury system of justice, there will be other arguments presented, I feel certain....

Charlie,

I understand your point about "change" too, and I do seem to recall some controversy about implementation of the old system years ago. I suppose that any change will bring questions, but although you and I will disagree on this issue, I think that you might agree that the very volume of this thread goes a long way towards revealing the concerns about this new implementation for a great many people.

Will it all settle down? Probably, but I do think unfortunately, that we have not even yet scratched the surface of the troubles and hidden expenses that this will bring to our community.

Missy,

The city will provide an additional can for a fee.

[Matt Jones]

Cuyahoga Falls must use a similiar system. My mother in law has a like size trash can at her place, and the city has retrieved it each week from her backyard while the neighbors have theirs on the tree lawn. Or is it a devils strip down there? No problems.

.

Since I'm currently living in exile in Cuyahoga Falls I can verify this. The Falls uses the exact same system that Lakewood just implemented. It was phased in throughout the city over the last couple years. And the city workers do indeed provide pickup from the garage or backyard for those unable to wheel the cans to the curb.

This system works perfectly fine in the Falls. However, there are two big differences that should be noted:
1. The Falls never had backyard pickup to begin with, so people here were generally supportive of the change to automated.
2. The Falls is way less densely populated than Lakewood. There is an older section of town with narrow streets, on-street parking, and 40-50 foot frontages similar to Lakewood, but few doubles or triples exist in those areas.

So I'm not sure how well the success of the system in Cuyahoga Falls will translate to Lakewood.

[Christopher Bindel]

I think Charlie is right. The real problem is people are creatures of habit and they have been doing the same thing for a very long time. As far as I know there has not been any significant change to refuse policy in most the residence life time (except for recycling, but that wasn’t required then and you could still dispose your trash the same way), though I could be wrong. This is not to say those who don’t like the idea don’t have legitimist concerns; any time there is change one has a right to be concerned and an obligation to ask questions. But for the most part I think people just do not like change and that is the problem with this.

Jim is right though, you don’t want to just change something to give it a chance because its usually to hard to go back. But don’t think the city decided this half-heartedly. They put a lot of time looking into this before deciding on it. And as for the price of the trucks go, the new ones we are getting we were going to have to buy any ways to replace old trucks soon to be out of commission, so the real cost when looking at it is the difference between the prices of the two trucks (I think it was about 40k, but don’t quote me on that). That being said, I am glad to see people recognizing that it wasn’t an easy decision and it did take courage and determination on the part of the Mayor. Although some may disagree I hope they are willing to give it a fighting chance and to help it work. Now that it is happening by fighting it you can’t help the city. By raising concerns and offering productive ideas to the city one can help make the transition smoother.

Missy,

As for your 4 large garbage cans a week. The new ones should hold at lest the amount of two of them and the city can provide another one. Normally I think they charge for an additional can but maybe you can see if you can get an acceptation (due to the nature of your business). If not they say any garbage that dose not fit in the new dumpster can be put into an old can and put out the way it always has been. Maybe if you do this long enough they will just give you a second one for free so they don’t have to get out to get your extra cans every week.

[Jim O'Bryan]

Thanks for the definition of crucify. I had no idea what it meant.

Backyard pickup is a luxury that’s past its prime. We will never go back. Half the residents put their trash out front as it is.

Charlie

No problem, just wanted to let you know I had been to City Hall and saw no signs of crucifixion. Evelyn still has a jar of small candies on her desk, and no trail of them falling through anyone's hands.

But you make my point. You said we should give it a try before...

Well there is no trying, the step has been made, and it is surely time to
move on. However taxpayers and residents have every right to discuss
it, and even complain.

The real issue here is change. Imagine if we had curbside pickup since the beginning of time and this month we are going to backyard pickup. The same people would be complaining.

No Charlie the real issue isn't change the real issue is having a community that can attract and keep residents, and attract and keep businesses. To me, that is having a city that offers something different to every city around us. So that Lakewood is always seen as "the intelligent" choice.

I think the Mayor is doing a good job during a very tough time. The city is solvent, and that was the most important thing to do.

FWIW


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[Charlie Page]

But you make my point. You said we should give it a try before...

Well there is no trying, the step has been made, and it is surely time to
move on. However taxpayers and residents have every right to discuss
it, and even complain.

You are correct...there is no trying...only doing. The plan has been laid out and all we have left to do is execute on that plan. I’m sure there will be bumps along the way (which will get blown out of proportion) but those bumps will/should be addressed and taken care of by the City. The key is the City has to know about it to do fix it.

Yes, residents have a right to discuss and complain. This only makes the process stronger.

No Charlie the real issue isn't change the real issue is having a community that can attract and keep residents, and attract and keep businesses. To me, that is having a city that offers something different to every city around us. So that Lakewood is always seen as "the intelligent" choice.

The real issue is change. You know of anyone who is planning to move because backyard trash pickup is going away? How many landlords have sold their property because the City discontinued trash pickup to apartments with 5 or more units?

I think the Mayor is doing a good job during a very tough time. The city is solvent, and that was the most important thing to do.

I agree. The Mayor is doing a good job during a difficult time. He has made some tough decisions to guide the City on a path towards fiscal recovery. However, there is more work to do. All 7 union contracts expire at the end of this year. Roads continue to deteriorate (and we don’t need a 50k study, as proposed in the recent budget hearings, to determine this – I believe that study was rightly given the deep 6 if I remember correctly). Store fronts are vacant. Property tax revenues are forecasted to be down in 2010. I would bet income tax collections for 2009 will be off from last year.

[Jim Marquard]

i have not bought a garbage can in a long time and i'm sure i did not buy it on being pretty.
i like backyard pick up, but like i said before i have no problem taking out the garbage to the curbside, i'm not lazy like some people.
change is good. do i like this change? time will tell, but then again, we all
have to accept this change and deal with it.
hopefully, this will be good for the city and save them money.