GAINESVILLE – The Gainesville City Council received an update on how non-emergency city services were faring after six weeks of operating under the pall of COVID-19 restrictions, including some “silver lining” items.
Public Works Director Chris Rotalsky used the term “silver lining” during the work session (broadcast publicly over the city’s website) Thursday morning to describe the city’s ability to take advantage of greatly reduced road traffic volumes to complete several projects.
Rotalsky spoke specifically of a “full depth reclamation” project recently completed on Enota Avenue, a thoroughfare heavily traveled when school is in session.
“That was a roadway that was degrading; we’ve had a lot of problems with it,” he said. “We went ahead and fast-tracked that because we knew we had reduced traffic volumes, and we were able to get that done during this time period. So, if there’s a silver lining, there have been some of those opportunities that have allowed us to get it done…faster, and not impede our citizens as much.”
Another positive lesson learned by the city during COVID-19 restrictions is the willingness of residents to take their trash to the curb for pick up. Rotalsky said that nearly 40-percent of those receiving scheduled trash pick-up were doing so already.
With people staying at home, Rotalsky said, the amount of trash collected by the city has escalated significantly, in excess of twenty percent.
“The volumes that we have seen have really, really grown. So many of us are at home, so what do so many of us do? You find projects to do; you clean out things and you clean up your yard. All that stuff has got to go somewhere,” he explained.
“With that we have asked our citizens to voluntarily bring their garbage to the curb; that has been a tremendous help. That has really made a difference for our operations here,” he said.
“We would like to make that request again,” Rotalsky added. “And to hopefully encourage the ones who, maybe, aren’t, for whatever reason…we would like to offer those a City of Gainesville rolling garbage cart…if our citizens are willing to bring it to the curb.”
Rotalsky explained in a telephone conversation after the work session that it will take from four to six weeks for the city to obtain and “logo-ize” the containers for its 6800 customers, but details of how to obtain a rolling canister will be released once the inventory is created.
“We would like to reward those that are helping us out…by giving them a can, free of charge, and anybody that wants to start doing that, we would like to give them a can free of charge, as well.”
City Manager Bryan Lackey said efforts to modify the way trash is collected in the city have been under consideration for a while.
“That’s something Angela (Assistant City Manager Angela Sheppard) and I have been really been pushing he (Rotalsky) and his staff to do,” Lackey said.
“We had planned with our next year fiscal budget… to go ahead and start buying those carts…and I appreciate them looking and accelerating that plan; they found a really good price,” Lackey told council members.
“One of the small ‘silver linings’ to that is some of our vendors (become more motivated to reduce prices) during this time, so we found a really good deal to buy all our customers those carts,” he said.
“It’s really a risk-management nightmare,” Lackey said of the longtime practice of workers entering private yards to gather and then return personal trach cans.
“We want to make it safer for them,” Lackey said. “And even if our folks aren’t going to be able to bring it to the curb…it makes it better for our employees to roll the carts down to the street.”
“And on a little side note, I think it’ll also make it a little better looking on our streets on trash day,” Lackey said with a smile. “Instead of the mismatched private cans that are put out there…it’ll have a little more of a uniform look.”
Again, the complimentary rolling trash cans will not be available for at least four weeks. Rotalsky said when they become available information will be provided by the city as to how they may be obtained by city residents.
