Council stresses East Campus trash collection, transportation

Trash on East Campus tends to build up after weekends.

By Ryan Schmitz

Published March 2, 2009

During its meeting Monday, the Columbia City Council moved forward with several projects to improve transportation in the city and heard a report about the negative financial impacts of trash collection in student neighborhoods.

The city's Trash Out Early program allows the city to remove garbage that is untimely or improperly placed on curbsides.

In 2008, there were 292 total TOE collections in Columbia, 61 of them on East Campus. Each pickup cost residents $25 for the first collection and $45 for each subsequent pickup within one year. These collections, combined with revenue from special pickup fees, created a net loss of $4,142 in 2008. To cover the expenses, city staff recommended the council raise the fees to $50 for the first violation and $100 per incident in the next 12 months.

"This is probably the tip of the iceberg, because at some point, people probably just get tired of calling," Sixth Ward Councilwoman Barbara Hoppe said. "Some people have gotten around this ordinance by not putting trash on the curb, but in the yard a few feet away from the curb."

Second Ward Councilman Chris Janku offered an alternative solution to the problem, since college students' lifestyles will not change overnight. He suggested trash pickup days in the neighborhood change to Monday.

"The problem in East Campus is that people have parties on the weekends," Janku said.

The council decided to hold an official public hearing at a later meeting for a more in-depth conversation on the matter.

A major point of discussion early in the meeting concerned the construction of a bridge connecting the Wilson's Fitness Center to the MKT Trail in south Columbia. Representatives of Wilson's Fitness and the surrounding neighborhoods on Forum Boulevard expressed support for and concerns about the project.

Many members of the gym supported the idea, since they would be able to walk safely from their homes to the fitness center. But business owners near the gym voiced apprehensions about losing potential customers, since parking and driving through the area would become more complicated. This raised additional questions regarding speed limits near the gym.

The council also discussed improvements to Columbia Regional Airport.

To comply with new visibility standards set by the Federal Aviation Administration, the city discussed plans to extend the airport's runways and refurbish them with new pavement. Specifically, the airport would lengthen its main airstrip by 900 feet and extend the secondary runway by 600 feet and moving it 1,000 feet east.

As part of a blanket motion approving many items, the council authorized City Manager Bill Watkins to apply to the FAA for grants to finance these improvements.

According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, the number of passengers using the airport has decreased each of the last four years. By comparison, traffic at Kansas City and Lambert-St. Louis international airports increased from 2005-2007 before declining last year.

In addition, Mayor Darwin Hindman introduced the idea to apply for funds from the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission to construct the Columbia Terminal Railroad bridge over U.S. 63. Columbia would receive funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to finance the bridge. The council will act on the proposal at a future meeting.