PRAIRIE GROVE -- The city of Prairie Grove receives complaints off and on about its green trash bags and is going to try heavier, thicker bags to see how they work and if people like them.
Larry Oelrich, director of administrative services and public works, said city staff have looked at alternatives for trash pickup and found pros and cons about each. Options include staying with the same type bags or a thicker bag, using trash cans or automated carts or installing a sticker system.
Some of the options, Oelrich said, are too expensive for the city. Others increase the time it takes sanitation workers to complete their work each day.
A sticker system, for example, requires customers to place a colored sticker on the bag, with the color based on the size of the bag. If the sticker cannot be readily seen, then sanitation workers have to pick up and look all over the bag to find the sticker, Oelrich said.
"This adds time to the drivers," Oelrich said. "Sanitation workers are the hardest working guys I have and I don't want to add to their burden."
For now, Oelrich said, the city needs to purchase more bags to make it through the end of the year.
Council member Doug Bartholomew said the one complaint he hears from residents is about the quality of the city's trash bags. When he was gathering signatures to file to run for re-election, Bartholomew said he asked citizens if they had any comments to make.
"Nine out of 10 said their biggest complaint is the trash bags," Bartholomew said. "I can't vote for something that so many people are against."
Council member Brea Gragg said she does not like the sticker idea and Tony Cunningham, another council member, said he preferred the bags. Several citizens attending the Council meeting indicated they were OK with the current green bags.
Prairie Grove uses a "pay as you throw" program. Customers pay for each bag so that a customer who only puts out one bag of trash does not have to pay as much as a resident who puts out six bags of trash. The program also encourages recycling so people can reduce the amount of bags they need to use each week.
"These bag programs are run across the country," Oelrich told Council members. "They are not unique to Prairie Grove."
Oelrich had a sample of a thicker, 2 mil trash bag that would cost $6.50 for a box of 26 32-gallon bags (if purchased with a volume discount). This compares to the current 1.4 mil bags the city uses, costing a customer $5.20 for a roll of 26 32-gallon bags.
Council member Ray Carson made a motion to order the thicker bags for the rest of the year to see what everyone thinks. The Council approved his motion.
Oelrich on Friday said it takes about two months to get in a trash bag order so the heavier bags would be available in early December.
In other business, the city of Prairie Grove has decided to do away with its No Knock list for door-to-door solicitation and provide free stickers for residents to place on or near their front doors.
People selling door to door still will have to apply for a city solicitation permit. City Attorney Steven Parker told Council members it's illegal to knock on a door with a No Solicitation sticker on it.
Mayor Sonny Hudson explained that the No Knock list worked for a while but many times solicitors did not keep the list with them and continued to knock on doors that were on the list.
The Council approved a request to rezone the land for Belle Meade subdivision Phase 4 from R-1.5 to R-1.75 to allow smaller lots with a minimum lot width of 50 feet. Phase 4 will have about 57 lots.
In explaining the request, Oelrich noted that a creek separates the rest of Belle Meade from Phase 4, providing a natural barrier between the larger and smaller homes. Oelrich said Prairie Grove has subdivisions inthe Valley View area that are zoned R-1.75.
The Council also gave final plat approval for Highland Greens Phase 2 subdivision in the Valley View area. This phase will have 30 houses.
After some discussion, Council members said they would be willing to close two roads in the Cummings addition, near the city's tennis courts. The city is in the process of obtaining easements to install sidewalks along the highway to Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park.
The man who owns this land said he was willing to give an easement but wanted the city to close two roads, Grover Street and Palm Street. The roads have been platted but never built.
Oelrich said the roads have not been used in 100 years and he didn't think they would be used in the next 100 years.
Parker said the owner would have to petition the city to close the roads and then the city would hold a public hearing on the request. All adjacent property owners also have to agree to the request.
When a road is closed, the street is divided down the middle, with one-half going to each adjacent landowner.
The city also authorized a joint use agreement to allow Washington County United Soccer Club to use its fields at the Muddy Fork Park for a youth soccer program. A representative of the Club thanked Council members for allowing his group to use the park. He said there are 170 kids in the program this fall. In the spring, about 270 kids will participate.
General News on 09/26/2018