WELLINGTON NORTH – Council here will consider a motion at its Oct. 26 meeting to direct township staff to conduct a leaf pickup in urban areas of the township during the second week of November.
The issue arose at the Oct. 13 meeting during discussion of a motion to direct staff to conduct a review and prepare a report on the new county waste management program regarding fall leaf and brush pickup in Arthur and Mount Forest.
The review would include the communication strategy and effectiveness of the program.
Although he initiated the motion calling for the report, councillor Dan Yake stated he felt a review was not sufficient to address the issue of leaf pickup.
In response to a request from Wellington North, also initiated by Yake, the County of Wellington has dropped tipping fees for leaf and yard waste delivered to county waste facilities and instituted regular leaf and yard waste pickup programs county-wide.
Yake told Mayor Andy Lennox, “I’d like to thank you and county council and staff for one removing the cost at landfill sites and extending the program.
“I think that’s been … just a good new story and I’ve heard lots of people have been taking advantage of it.”
However, Yake continued, “I’m still looking for clarification in regards to the loose leaf pick up in Wellington North.
“We still haven’t really clarified how that’s going to work … there’s lots of people that are still wondering what’s going to happen in regard to loose leaf pickup.”
At the previous meeting on Sept. 28, director of operations Matt Aston explained, in response to a question by Yake, the township’s intent is to fully move residents onto the county program, where they would be required to put out leaves in brown paper bags and Wellington County employees would be picking them up the weeks of Oct. 26 and Nov. 23.
“We’re in the middle of October … people are talking about 100 bags or more,” said Yake at the Oct. 13 meeting.
“I don’t think it’s appropriate that we make them put them all in bags. I think the loose leaf pickup program has worked well for a number of years and I think that we need to continue it to some degree.”
Councillor Sherry Burke said, “There are neighbourhoods that have a lot of very mature trees and it’s going to take either a lot of trips or bags to bag the leaves.”
Burke added council needs to know what will happen to loose leaves that are raked to the curb.
Mayor Andy Lennox pointed out the motion on the floor simply requests a report, not action on loose leaves.
“We are in a transition between a program that we’ve offered locally to a county program that deals with leaf and yard waste pickup,” Lennox stated.
Aston said, “From a township staff standpoint, this the first year of the county program and certainly brown paper bags are a great way to get rid of leaves, but ultimately, township staff will fall in line with whatever township council decides.”
Councillor Steve McCabe asked if the report could include information on what other municipalities do regarding leaf and yard waste.
“I don’t know why we need to try and reinvent the wheel here,” said Yake.
“If I rake my leaves to the curb and they’re blocking a gutter or a storm drain, what’s going to happen? Are we just going to pick up that little bit on a storm drain or are they going to pick up all the leaves? I think that’s what people are looking for.
“They want clarification now in regards to what the municipality’s going to do with the loose leaves that are put at the curb.”
Yake proposed “we at least do one cleanup of leaves this year and then give us more time to talk about this.”
Summarizing discussion on the issue, CAO Mike Givens stated, “The conversation starting back in June was that leaves needed to be bagged or put in bins to be picked up as part of the county program. That was the message and that has been the message throughout.
“And I think that councillor Yake would say that that message has not been well communicated or … that that program is not sufficient for what needs to happen, particularly in Mount Forest.
“That’s really the issue, not a report, it’s loose leafs that are dragged either to the boulevard or to the curb. Who’s to address them?” Givens added.
“What’s the municipality’s responsibility for people’s leaves on their own properties?” asked McCabe.
“How far do the township workers and staff have to go to meet the residents? And I understand the county’s program maybe isn’t as sufficient as it maybe should be, but I’m not aware of how much more we can do.”
Yake responded, “If my leaves blow into the gutter, Steve – they blow from my yard to the gutter – who’s cleaning them up? The town’s going to clean them up eventually.
“Leaves, you can’t control them. There’s no control. I wait all year for my neighbours leaves to come to my yard and then I hope that a big wind will come up and blow them to the neighbour’s yard. But it doesn’t work that way. Eventually you’ve got to clean them up.”
McCabe replied, “That’s my point exactly. Yeah, you have to clean them up.”
Lennox said, “The problem I have, that I struggle with, is the balance between those people who are accepting of the county program, are out there bagging their leaves and their yard waste and so on and doing those things and then we’re going to go back and offer this additional service?
“Aren’t we effectively just asking everybody to go back to the way we did it before and not then taking advantage of the county program?”
Burke suggested communication on the county program came out too late for residents to react this year.
“So I think it might be appropriate for us to do one more sweep and continue to try and promote the county program,” she added.
Councillors approved a motion directing staff to complete the review and report on the new system.
Council also agreed to consider, at the next regular meeting on Oct. 26, directing staff to conduct a loose leaf pickup during the second week of November.
