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Council approves community cleanup day that doubles as emergency-management training
Summary
Council voted to approve a community cleanup day directed by Randy Meininger on April 26 that will also serve as a National Incident Management System/Incident Command System training exercise with local churches, emergency management and volunteers.
The Scottsbluff City Council voted to approve a community cleanup event scheduled for April 26 that organizers said will pair neighborhood litter and bulk-waste collection with incident-command training for volunteer leaders.
Organizers Randy Meininger and Tony Kaufman told the council the daylong event would run roughly 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., cover a wide portion of the city and be used to train volunteers in incident command roles such as operations, planning, safety and public information. The organizers told the council they are working with the city’s new emergency manager, regional partners and local churches to recruit volunteers and coordinate logistics, including food for volunteers.
“We're using the community cleanup as the exercise practice,” Meininger said, describing plans to train volunteers to identify hazards, notify fire or hazardous-materials teams and escalate items they cannot safely handle. He urged the council to approve the project so organizers can proceed with planning and training sessions in the months before the event.
Council members and staff discussed operational questions including whether the landfill would be open for the day, whether the event could accept tires, white goods and potentially hazardous items, and how sanitation pickups would be handled. Staff said the landfill operator has been asked to open for the event and that organizers are developing collection protocols; organizers said hazardous materials would not be accepted without special arrangements and volunteer training would emphasize awareness and reporting rather than removal.
City staff indicated they will pursue grant funding, including a possible EPA grant (up to $75,000) and regional funds, and that city budget or “Kino” funds might be used if grant funding is not available. Volunteers, local businesses with trucks and trailers, and church groups are expected to move collected materials to an agreed staging area or the landfill during the event.
After discussion, the council approved the proposal by motion and roll call (Solomon: yes; McKeerigan: yes; Stricker: yes; Bidlaff: yes; Phillips: yes). Organizers said follow-up planning meetings and volunteer trainings will be scheduled prior to April.
