Beatrice public works board, hears Clean City Week evaluation

BEATRICE – A city-wide large item collection campaign in Beatrice in early October, logged items from 1,143 addresses…..down just over 100 locations from the year before. The Clean City Week curbside collection was moved this year from the spring, to the fall.

In a report to the Beatrice Board of Public Works Wednesday, Street Superintendent Jason Moore said the project this year had similar numbers, when compared to 2019.  As for whether fall is a better time for the project than the spring, Moore says either could work.

"I like the weather in the fall. In the spring...we've always been the first or second week of April....we've had years where it's been fairly chilly in the spring, we've even seen a bit of snow. I kind of like October a little more, because the weather is a little nicer. I can't say there was any one thing that would make me say that I would not want to do spring or fall."

The total cost to provide the service this fall was $17,000…..down from the $18,780 in 2020. Monday was the busiest of the three-day event…with 501 locations picked up.

A problem that cropped up again as it has in the past, was the drop-off of old mattresses……because of out-of-city residents taking advantage of the program.
"One of the nights, I was heading out west of town at about six-thirty, and I met an out-of-county truck coming in with a fifth wheel gooseneck trailer that was loaded probably four or five high all the way in the back, with mattresses. Not hard to figure out where they're going."

The mattress drop-off location was on city property, just northwest of 1st and Ella. However, some persons discarded mattresses next to a boxcar on railroad property, nearby. Officials briefly discussed having mattresses dropped off at the Beatrice landfill as one option for the future.

Mayor Stan Wirth and the street superintendent both say they don’t like having city residents pay for participation of persons from outside the community.