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Council raises waste‑hauler fees, donates surplus kitchen equipment and updates downtown parking map
Summary
Freeport’s council approved an ordinance increasing waste‑hauler dump‑station fees, authorized donation of surplus Pretzel City Kitchen equipment to the Yield program, and updated the downtown parking map; most routine items passed unanimously after brief staff presentations.
The Freeport City Council approved several routine ordinances during a special meeting, including a fee increase for waste-haulers, donation of surplus kitchen equipment, and a housekeeping update to the downtown parking map.
On the second reading of Ordinance 20 26 36, Manager Boyer said staff sought to recover operating costs at the wastewater treatment plant’s dump station by increasing the flat fee from $40 to $50 and the per-500‑gallon rate from $0.08 to $0.12. "Essentially, this is just recovering our costs associated with managing the dump station at the wastewater treatment plant," Boyer said. The ordinance passed on the recorded vote of 5–0.
Council also considered Ordinance 20 26 42, which would authorize donation of surplus equipment from Pretzel City Kitchen to the Yield program. Boyer said the equipment had been declared surplus and was originally authorized for auction; the Yield program requested a donation instead and staff recommended approving the transfer. Council suspended the rules for immediate final passage and adopted the ordinance by a 6–0 vote.
Finally, staff presented Ordinance 20 26 43 to amend the master parking map to reflect improvements on Chicago Avenue and to update the city’s digital parking map. Director Sutman described the city’s move to a living digital map in 2023 and said the update is primarily housekeeping; the stated costs were staff time and existing licensing. A motion to suspend the rules and finalize the ordinance passed, and the ordinance received final passage 7–0.
What’s next: the fee increase will be implemented as stated in the ordinance; the donated equipment will be transferred to the Yield program per the adopted ordinance; staff will continue to maintain the updated digital parking map and handle any licensing needs.
Votes at a glance: Ordinance 20 26 36 (waste‑hauler fees) adopted 5–0; Ordinance 20 26 42 (donation of Pretzel City Kitchen equipment) adopted 6–0 after suspension of the rules; Ordinance 20 26 43 (parking map) adopted 7–0 after suspension of the rules.
