Resident urges published yard‑waste schedule; town staff say seasonal volume and staffing make fixed timetable impractical

Alexis Green, a Legacy Lakes resident, asked the Town of Aberdeen on Sept. 22 to develop a published yard‑waste collection schedule after noticing yard debris sometimes sits curbside for weeks.

"What a schedule could help us do is allow our residents to know when the trucks would come," Green said, adding a 48‑hour window to prepare would reduce weeks of piled leaves and limbs.

Town staff, speaking through Paul (staff) and Joe Wood (public works), told the board that while a posted schedule sounds straightforward, seasonal changes in volume and operational realities make a fixed timetable hard to keep. "It becomes almost impossible if a truck has any problem whatsoever," Paul said, noting crews typically rotate through areas and aim to collect every 10 days to two weeks but can be delayed during heavy leaf season.

Public works staff also highlighted equipment and staffing constraints. Joe Wood said the town typically has one crew member per collection truck and that some specialized truck repairs require factory service. The mayor and staff noted a new vacuum/leaf truck can cost about $220,000, limiting how quickly the town can add vehicles.

Staff said the town will continue to respond to complaints and that, in many cases, crews reach neighborhoods within a day of a complaint; budget and staffing changes would be needed to guarantee a published curbside schedule. Commissioner remarks and a staff follow‑up suggested the issue may be revisited during next year’s budget process.

The town did not set a new schedule at the meeting; staff described current practice as a rotating collection that usually achieves a two‑week cycle but can vary with seasonal volume, equipment downtime and staffing levels.