Jefferson City yard waste drop-off site to begin operations under new contract
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Jefferson City temporary yard waste drop-off site began operating with Troesser Lawn Care on Saturday after multiple concerns about the site were addressed by the City Council.
The new agreement with the lawn care service will provide extra hours to drop off yard waste, extra staffing to help maintain the site and help mitigate traffic impacts according to Jefferson City Council.
These are all complaints the city had received and addressed during a council meeting last Tuesday.
ABC 17 News crews were at the site Saturday and reported no traffic backups, and about six crew members managing the yard waste and traffic flow.
At least 15 cars dropped off waste before 9 a.m.
The agreement was approved and began immediately, costing the city a maximum of $35,000.
The yard waste drop-off site will be open for eight hours on Saturdays and Wednesdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and four hours on Sundays.
The site is located at 708 Ellis Blvd.
While some residents are happy with additional crews and hours of operation, they are still wanting more.
"Last week was really mess," said yard waste site user Sammie Zayumba.
"I mean, the line was so long, but today it's much better. I guess adding day on Wednesday helped by a lot. But I wish they could add more, maybe two or three more days,“ said Zayumba
For the past few weeks, the site has been ope with 3 city employees managing it. According to Jefferson City Public Works Director Matt Morasch, having the additional staff will help alleviate traffic near the site.
Morasch said the traffic backups can be attributed to residents arriving before the facility opens.
ABC 17 news crews at the site saw that the driveway into the facility Is not very long and is blocked by a gate. They observed that it can only fit about 3 to 4 cars before traffic extends into the roadway.
Britt Smith, Operations Divison Director for Jefferson City Public Works asks that residents be patient if traffic does become backed up.
"If we do get traffic back ups, we've got JCPD to come up and help us with that, but if folks do get here and it is backed up a little bit, please just go around the circle, pull into a parking lot, wait a few minutes and come right back and we'll get you taken care of," said Smith.
During the weekend of Nov. 18 and 19, 485 people dropped their waste at the site, according to a Jefferson City yard waste collection map. The weekend prior, 360 people used the service, while the weekend before that, 228 people used it.
The site will be closed Dec. 24th and Dec. 31st for holidays. According to a memo from the City Council, hours of operation may vary due to weather.
The city is looking to have a permanent location from the yard waste drop-off site by the spring of 2024.
