Fees slated to rise at Eau Claire's green waste site

Apr. 11—EAU CLAIRE — The city is proposing higher fees to accept grass clippings, dead leaves and small brush at its green waste site on Jeffers Road.

That fee hike being proposed at Tuesday's City Council meeting comes after no private operators showed interest in running the site, prompting the local government to resume management of it.

Steve Plaza, manager of the city's parks, cemeteries, forestry, building and grounds, said the proposed fees are intended to cover costs for the attendant and use of heavy machinery at the site.

"We're not trying to make money at all. We're just trying to sustain our costs," he said.

For the past five years, Eau Claire-based refuse hauler company Boxx Sanitation has run the green waste site through a contract with the city.

Boxx only charged 50 cents per large paper bag filled with yard waste, but the city's proposal would increase that to $2.

Unloading a pickup truck with a bed loaded with brush, leaves and grass clippings will also cost more. Boxx charged between $5 and $10 per truckload — depending on the pickup size — while the city is proposing fees of $15 to $20.

Using a large trailer to unload green waste will cost less though. Boxx had a fee of $12 per cubic yard unloaded from a large trailer while the city intends to charge $7 per cubic yard.

The city's proposed fee structure doesn't include a season pass, which Boxx sold for $35 to people who wanted to dump unlimited yard waste disposal for a year.

Josh Boxx, owner of the local company, said the choice to not apply to run the site again came down to the retirement of the employee who had worked there.

"It was going to be very difficult to operate that without 'Lefty,'" Boxx said.

When asked if the site was self-sustainable or profitable for the company under its contract with the city, Boxx opted not to answer as that related to the business' financial matters.

The city advertised its request for proposals in February for individuals or companies interested in running the green waste site, but got no takers this time.

But the city didn't want the site to sit idle as Plaza called it "an important function" because it gives residents an option for recycling yard waste.

"It's well-used and it's good for the environment," he said.

Higher-than-expected use contributed to a budget crunch the site had in 2014 and 2015 when it was run by the Eau Claire County government. Residents weren't charged disposal fees then so the site experienced a deficit when hauling fees rose and there was a temporary cut in recycling funding from the state. That led the city to seek a private operator for the green waste site in late 2015, which Boxx agreed to do for five years.

If the City Council approves the new green waste fees on Tuesday, the Jeffers Road site is tentatively slated to open on April 28.

Similar to Boxx's operation of it, the site will be open Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays through mid-November — except on holidays and during inclement weather.

On-site payment will be accepted by checks — no cash — Plaza said, but the city also is working on a system to pre-pay by credit card through its website.

Either dumped in bulk or contained in biodegradable paper bags, the city will accept grass clippings, leaves and small brush under six inches in diameter.

"We don't want logs or big branches. That's not what the site is for," Plaza said.

Treated wood, landscaping materials and rocks are not allowed for dumping.

Residents can also take wood chips, mulch and compost made at the site for free. Those materials will be available on a first come, first served basis.

Boxx had allowed people to fill a container with those materials for free, but charged fees for those who used pickups or trailers to take wood chips, mulch and compost.

Grant money hearing

An influx of federal grant money from last year's coronavirus relief package is slated to help a downtown Eau Claire homeless shelter with an expansion and renovation project.

Tonight the City Council will hold public hearings on its proposed budget for the Community Development Block Grant funding it receives annually and a special one-time allocation made possible by the CARES Act.

Sojourner House, 618 S. Barstow St., was the lone agency to apply for Eau Claire's additional CDBG funding that gives priority to homeless, health care and employment services to help the community recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The shelter requested $450,000 to retrofit its small building to accommodate public health measures for the remainder of the pandemic as well as go from a nighttime-only facility to also providing daytime social services there.

That request exceeded the allocation to Eau Claire, but Sojourner House is poised to get the entire $331,145 provided to the city through the one-time boost in CDBG dollars.

For its regular annual allocation of federal dollars intended to help lower income areas, the city is getting $552,048 in CDBG money and $314,860 in a companion HOME program. Those amounts are $13,948 and $33,740 lower than last year, respectively.

The proposed budget for them continues to focus on programs that boost homeownership and rehabilitate older housing, as well as contributions to services provided by community organizations including Bolton Refuge House, The Community Table, Eau Claire Area Hmong Mutual Assistance Association, Western Dairyland, Lutheran Social Services and others.

Following this week's public hearing, the proposed CDBG budget will return to the council for a vote on April 27.

Other business

Also during this week's City Council meetings:

—Allowing restaurants to expand their seating outdoors into parking spots along city streets will be subject to a public discussion tonight before the council will vote Tuesday on an ordinance that would allow that.

—Regulations for electric scooter rental services will be discussed tonight before the council will vote Tuesday on ordinances governing how those companies could operate in Eau Claire. Scooter companies have expressed interest in serving Eau Claire, according to a city memo, which prompted the city to first consider rules for them similar to those that apply to bike rental businesses.

—Several proposals for new housing developments will be subject to public hearings tonight before the council votes Tuesday on rezoning land so they can proceed.

—After rejecting a lease renewal in February for a privately-owned downtown parking lot at 219 S. Barstow St., the council will meet in closed session to discuss potential terms for a new lease.

—On Tuesday the council will consider a resolution to join the newly created Wisconsin Local Government Climate Coalition, a group of city and county governments that advocate on issues related to clean energy and climate change.

—Following Tuesday's regular meeting, the council will hold its first work session of the year on the city's five-year capital projects plan.