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DDA confronts downtown trash and parking-lot deterioration as businesses and market activity rise
Summary
Members spent the bulk of the meeting on persistent trash overflow and crumbling downtown parking lots, hearing DPW explain city ownership and contract limits while discussing short-term fixes (more pickups, cold patching) and longer-term options (compactors, engineering study).
The Downtown Development Authority devoted the longest portion of its meeting to mounting trash and parking-lot problems in the downtown retail core, as business growth and weekend market activity increase waste and strain aging infrastructure.
The parking and trash committee described a 7 a.m. site walk behind Noble Village and said dumpsters frequently overflow on busy days, that pallets and construction debris accumulate in enclosures, and that some dumpster locations are inaccessible to larger trucks. "We're paying $27,000 a year for trash pickup," one committee member said, arguing the current service and enclosure layout are insufficient for growing restaurant activity.
Ryan McDonald, assistant superintendent for the Department of Public Works, told the DDA the four downtown lots and their dumpsters are city‑owned and that the city participates in a regional contract: "Those are not businesses owned. They are owned by the city," he said, and explained SACRA holds the Tringale contract that covers pickup for the city. McDonald said businesses currently pay a fee similar to residential curbside service and that increasing service or installing larger equipment would carry additional costs.
The board discussed several operational options: adjusting pickup days (including adding Saturday service), expanding or redesigning dumpster enclosures so trucks can access containers, and installing compactors or roll‑off containers. Members pointed to examples in neighboring communities; staff cautioned that compactors work where a municipal maintenance crew can manage security and roll-offs.
Staff recommended targeted short-term repairs — DPW plans to run cold patching on Thursdays to reduce trip hazards — while a full solution would likely require an engineering study and multi‑million dollar reconstruction of the lots. McDonald said access constraints (adjacent private lots, overhead wires and parked cars) mean some locations need complete redesigns rather than piecemeal fixes.
Members pressed for cost estimates and next steps. Staff did not provide final numbers at the meeting; McDonald said an engineering study would be the first step and that the DDA may need to coordinate with SACRA and Tringale to change pickup frequency or equipment. The board asked staff to pursue options, consult comparable towns, and return with more detailed cost estimates and timetable at a future meeting.
The discussion closed with a request that the assessor review plans for two major ongoing developments so the DDA can better estimate the revenue those projects will produce and how that might affect funding for repairs.
