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Minot council keeps fall curbside cleanup after staff review of costs, safety and alternatives
Summary
After a detailed staff presentation on costs, staff time and injuries, the Minot City Council voted unanimously to continue the twice‑annual fall cleanup curbside service and asked staff to return with alternative delivery options and potential discounted bulk pickup rates.
The Minot City Council voted unanimously Monday to continue offering the city’s fall curbside cleanup event, rejecting staff suggestions to end the program outright after a staff presentation showed the event’s costs, staffing impacts and injury rates.
Public works staff told the council the fall cleanup mobilizes about 50 employees, borrows staff from multiple departments and uses roughly 30 pieces of equipment. Staff estimated the city spends about $130,000 per cleanup event and that the operation requires roughly 2,000 staff hours drawn from sanitation, street, storm sewer, airport, landfill, water treatment and property maintenance crews.
Public works noted the spring cleanup yields roughly 480 tons of material on average; the fall cleanup averages about 300 tons. The department also reported a higher injury rate during cleanup weeks: since 2019, staff logged 14 injuries and 104 lost work days associated with spring and fall events, with the fall event accounting for about 95 percent of those injuries.
Council debate focused on service promises made to residents when the city shifted to containerized automated collection in 2017, costs and alternatives. Alderman Mike Blessam argued the city should not reduce service without offering residents a lower trash rate; “I am not about giving less service for the same dollars,” he said. Staff said terminating the fall event would not immediately reduce rates because many of the staff costs are covered by existing budgets and interdepartmental assignments.
Staff offered alternatives including continued free landfill dumping days, increased use of scheduled bulk pickup (currently $15 per large bulky item after a January rate change) and the possibility of offering discounted bulk-pickup pricing during a dedicated week. Council members also discussed changing the timing or format of the program (for example, spreading pickup across multiple Wednesdays), and asked staff to explore options that would preserve service while lowering safety and opportunity costs.
The motion to continue the fall cleanup event passed unanimously. Council asked staff to return with more detailed options — including possible discounted bulk collection rates during a designated week and scheduling alternatives — so the council could consider adjustments before the next cleanup season.
