Public Works Director Mick Murray provided a multi‑topic update on transportation, waste, facilities and urban forestry projects.

Murray said the city entered a contract with Rumpke Services on July 14 to process recyclables collected through the city's curbside program. He said the agreement sets a fixed processing rate of $70 per ton for three years and will, the city estimates, save about $22,000 in the first year by reducing fuel and labor costs. Murray said Rumpke will transfer materials through its Columbus material recovery facility (MRF), which he described as the largest in North America with the capacity to process 250,000 tons annually, and that roughly 80% of material Rumpke processes remains in Ohio. He listed expanded acceptable materials under the new contract, including paper coffee cups, plastic drink and food cups and plastic clamshell containers. No council vote on the contract was recorded in the meeting report; Murray described the transition as already executed.

On waste operations, Murray said the city expects delivery of a side‑load packer truck next week (the truck was ordered in 2023). The department is also piloting RouteWare dynamic routing and tablet‑based turn‑by‑turn directions for drivers; Murray said the system adjusts routes in real time for traffic and missed pickups and allows drivers to capture image‑based evidence of service exceptions. He said sustainability coordinator Rachel Sizer will use those images to send targeted educational materials and improve compliance.

Murray reported sidewalk repairs (South Summit between Wooster and Clough and Leroy Avenue infill), ongoing asphalt and concrete repairs, crack sealing, and an asset management effort with Withers Ravanel and the GIS department using recent PCI data to prioritize street repairs. On South Main repaving (Ordway to the corporate limit) he said curb work is underway, curb removal began the day of the meeting and intermediate asphalt will follow; the project includes a shared‑use path on the west side of South Main, dedicated turn lanes at Napoleon, new curbs between Gypsy and Napoleon, and installation of two pedestrian hybrid beacons later this fall.

Murray announced the city received Safe Streets for All funding for a shared‑use path on North Main from Poe Road to NIMS; when asked about the dollar amounts, he said Safe Streets for All to the local project was $3,600,000 and that the four‑county project total was $24,500,000. He also noted other corridor safety studies (Main Street bike and ped study; Sand Ridge intersections and West Wooster analyses) and schedule milestones for shared‑use path projects planned in 2026–2028.

On cemetery records, Murray said ground‑penetrating radar has been completed on the final two sections (referred to as sections C and A) of Oak Grove Cemetery to locate vaults and improve GPS mapping and records. For facilities, he announced Andy Surgent was selected as the city's facilities project manager; Murray said Surgent has worked for the city 18 years and served as facilities supervisor for the last three years.

Murray also summarized urban forestry work this year — tree removals for health and storm damage, extensive pruning and community outreach — and noted the city hosted the Northwest Ohio Tree City award ceremony on April 16 and is working on a Bowling Green tree canopy project funded through an IRA grant with work on dozens of properties and new plantings planned.

Murray concluded by emphasizing staff dedication and then answered a question about the Safe Streets award amount, providing the figures noted above. No formal council action on the projects was recorded during the meeting; most items were presented as staff updates.