MASSENA — Village of Massena officials say, if anyone has concerns about the recent changes to spring cleanup, they want to hear about them personally.
Mayor Timmy J. Currier and Deputy Mayor Matthew J. LeBire said there had been some comments left on social media, but they’d prefer to talk with people in person to hear their concerns.
Mr. LeBire said he had received no negative complaints by phone or in person, but had seen a few comments online.
“It’s hard to have a good dialogue online. I encourage people to contact us in person,” he said during Tuesday’s Board of Trustees meeting.
Mr. Currier stressed that if anyone had a problem or issue, they wanted to know about it.
“We’re open to fixing issues that are there,” he said.
This year’s spring cleanup was a different procedure than in the past. Rather than Department of Public Works employees picking up items curbside, residents were issued non-transferrable vouchers to take their items directly to the transfer station. The voucher entitled them to one trip, with up to a half-ton pickup load of tarped items.
“We had a voucher system that worked pretty well,” Department of Public Works Superintendent Hassan A. Fayad said, noting this year’s cleanup was “relatively low-maintenance.”
As in years past, residents north of the Grasse River had their cleanup one week, followed by residents south of the Grasse River the following week.
The Department of Public Works mailed out 4,865 vouchers to account holders in the village, but only 864 were used.
“That could be for various reasons,” Mr. Fayad said.
In social media postings, some residents had shared their concerns about not having a vehicle to transport items to the transfer station, although some individuals with trucks had volunteered to pick up items and take them for residents.
Another concern was the hours of operation, which weren’t compatible with some individuals’ work schedules. Cleanup was held from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Saturday, from April 22 to May 4.
Other residents, meanwhile, said they didn’t use their vouchers because they didn’t have any items to take to the transfer station.
Because fewer items were weighed this year, that brought the cost down, Mr. Fayad said. This year’s total weight was 120.64 tons, compared to 212.20 tons in spring 2018. This year’s cost was $27,818.27, compared to $59,798.07 in spring 2018.
“The weight was significantly less than previous years. It’s about half of what it was in previous years. That’s where we get the cost of $27,818 as opposed to the previous year,” he said.
Mr. Fayad said he had also received comments about the change.
“Obviously, nobody likes change. However, many people embraced the program,” he said.
Trustee Christine Winston pointed out that many other communities don’t offer roadside pickup or vouchers as they do in the village and town of Massena.
The gist of it
n WHAT: Village of Massena officials want to hear personally from residents who have problems or issues with this year’s spring cleanup
n WHY: For this year’s cleanup, residents were asked to take their items directly to the transfer station rather than have them picked up curbside by Department of Public Works employees
n THE FEEDBACK: While some residents embraced the program, others said they didn’t have the means to get the items to the transfer station, or the hours weren’t compatible with their work schedule