Spring cleanup will be free after all

The annual spring cleanup will be free after all.

The Regional Board of Mayors, after being awarded a grant, chose during a special meeting March 18 not to charge locals for dumping yard waste at the Delano Regional Transfer Station during spring cleanup week, which runs from April 3-16, with days depending on each town (see the ad on page 2).

Originally, the mayors had chosen this year to charge a fee for pickup loads of yard waste taken to the transfer station to cover the costs of taking that waste to the landfill in Ephrata. 

They were previously told by Grant County officials that it would be illegal for the landfill in Ephrata to allow them to dump the yardwaste there for free, although the spring cleanup had been free in the past, which created some confusion. 

But Electric City Mayor Diane Kohout did her research and applied for a grant from the state Department of Ecology, and was awarded the grant, which is technically an air quality grant as allowing dumping of yard waste can prevent people from burning it.

The grant will pay for up to $14,000 in costs associated with the spring cleanup.

Kohout thinks ecology thought she was applying for $3,500 for each of the four local towns, rather than $3,500 total which is the actual estimated dumping costs. 

 She said she would be applying for the grant, which runs on a biennium, again in July, and that the funds from that could potentially cover costs with future spring cleanups, as well as fall cleanups.