Residents report gas odor at home and criticize new single-day trash pickup; city officials point to inspections and billing changes

Several residents used the Leroy Boyd Forum and the council’s public comment period on July 17 to raise safety concerns about aging gas meters and to criticize the city's move to a single weekly trash‑collection schedule and related billing changes.

Doris Hayes told council members she first smelled gas at her property in late June and said a utility worker confirmed a strong odor when crews responded. "Miss Hayes, gas is I can smell gas. It's it's really bad," a transcript of the exchange records a contractor telling Hayes; she later told the council that city staff dug and repaired the source. Hayes urged the city to inspect "these old houses" and replace rusty gas meters where needed.

Separately, Thomas Fisher, a resident who…