Commission weighs ordinance, enclosures to manage downtown dumpsters

Mount Clemens City Commission members spent the work session discussing options to manage downtown commercial dumpsters, including building a new enclosure on Cherry Street, relocating dumpsters to Market Street, or relying on existing enclosures on New Street. City staff described a proposed ordinance that would require businesses to use city-managed dumpsters unless they demonstrate an acceptable alternative.

Mr. Shipman, a city staff member who led the presentation, said the problem has persisted for years and described privately owned dumpsters sitting on city property and grease-bin issues. "They were destroying the sidewalks and the curbs," he said, explaining why the city previously removed some dumpsters from Cherry Street and installed a secured enclosure in the new street parking lot. He told commissioners there are currently two downtown dumpsters that "don't have a home."

Shipman outlined a cooperative model proposed in an architects' study: the city would provide enclosures and collect a fee so multiple businesses share dumpsters and benefit from bulk pricing. "The charge mechanism would be an ordinance and the ordinance would say that everybody had to use a city dumpster unless they could provide the city that they had a viable alternate means of trash pickup," he said. Commissioners and the Downtown Development Authority (DDA) reviewed the study; the DDA described it as "well done" and generally endorsed the Cherry Street site as the compromise that best balances access and operations.

Commissioners discussed operational details: access for pickup trucks, how many dumpsters an enclosure should hold, whether unit pricing would need to be rebid, and who would maintain the enclosures. Staff said the fee would include a maintenance component and that the Department of Public Works (DPW) would handle upkeep because the DDA does not have maintenance staff. "We'd have to define that in the ordinance," Shipman said about rules for alternatives such as curbside Kirby carts and scheduling early-morning pickups.

Business owners raised concerns about distance and feasibility. At the microphone, Mickey Weiss said, "Our dumpster on New Street, that's for the whole of Charity Street Mall," listing several restaurants that rely on that location and underscoring that small establishments have limited space for alternate storage. Commissioners repeatedly noted that any solution will inconvenience some businesses but said the goal is to find the most practical arrangement for the greatest number of downtown businesses.

While no formal vote or ordinance adoption occurred during the work session, several commissioners said Cherry Street appears to be the most practical site for an enclosure. The commission asked staff to pursue next steps and return with more firm cost estimates, proposed ordinance language defining a "viable alternate," and an implementation plan; staff did not present a formal motion to adopt policy during this meeting.