For a couple of years anyway, the members of Estevan city council appear to have put the controversial garbage issue to rest.
At the same time, they have also taken the first steps toward creating a curbside recycling program in the city.
For the fourth straight meeting, garbage dominated the discussion in council chambers as the members of council continued to debate whether or not to grant a request from Regens Disposal to move pickup in much of the city from the back alleys to the front of homes.
Regens made the request earlier this year, claiming that back alley pickup had become a major inconvenience and was also causing significant amounts of damage to their vehicles.
After batting the issue back and forth for awhile, council made a firm decision Monday, voting 4-2 in favour of denying Regens request.
However, a number of residents in Estevan will still have to move their garbage containers in the near future.
Acting upon a report from public works manager Mark Sture, council has decided to move pickup in a number of areas that have been trouble spots in past winters from Nov. 1 to May 31.
In his report, Sture noted the majority of problem areas are in the northeast areas of the city where the snow often blows in from the north. There is also an alley south of Westview Place that usually presents an issue.
Sture added that some alleys in the Valleyview area are difficult to navigate due to the T intersections.
Trees are also an issue as alleys in a handful of areas throughout Estevan are impacted by branches that impede the flow of trucks, scratch paint and break mirrors off the City's graders and larger equipment.
In conjunction with parks division employees, public works will identify trees that are causing problems and prune the troublesome limbs. The City will also speak with property owners to remind them of their obligations to maintain the trees on their land. Council voted unanimously in favour of the motion.
Shortly after that motion passed, Mayor Gary St. Onge swapped chairs with current Deputy Mayor Roy Ludwig so he could present a motion of his own that takes the first step down a road that may lead to curbside recycling.
St. Onge's motion, which passed unanimously, calls for City staff to develop a report on curbside recycling that includes the costs such a program would have for Estevan taxpayers. The motion also called for a pilot program to be developed in the Pleasantdale area where residents already have front yard garbage pickup.
"I think it is time to try it," St. Onge said after Monday's meeting. "People want to see door to door recycling and there are a lot of people, a lot of younger people more so than older people, that would like to see that happen and a lot of people that have moved in from other places and had some kind of recycling."
