Barrier aimed at boosting security

COLUMBUS - City officials hope the addition of a new fence at the city's transfer station will provide added security for the city's wastewater treatment plant and reduce illegal dumping.

Last week, the Columbus City Council approved plans for a perimeter fence and gates at the Solid Waste Transfer Station along 14th Avenue East.

Installation of the fence is being done as part of a mandate from the Department of Homeland Security, said Chuck Thomerson, public works and environmental services director for the city.

"We are required as a municipality to look at every possible threat to our facilities," Thomerson said.

Because the Transfer Station is located across the street from the city's wastewater treatment plant, Thomerson said added protection is needed. Although it is mandated by the federal government, it is not funded by them.

The city will spend about $34,500 on the project.

The fence will line both sides of 14th Avenue East and connect to the wastewater facility fence on the east side and encompass the Transfer Station on the west side.

Thomerson said the fence will also provide a better traffic flow and help cut down on the amount of debris blowing onto nearby property.

The Transfer Station is not only for trash haulers to drop off their solid waste, but is also used by residents to dispose of items, such grass clippings and garden materials.

Installation of the new fence will not be the only change at the Transfer Station in the coming months. Thomerson said a city employee will also be on site until 8 p.m. Currently, a city employee is only on site from 8:45 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 11:45 on Saturday. The remaining times, the facility is unmanned. It closes about 9 p.m. Thomerson said.

"We have a neighbor in the area who locks the gate for us," he said.

Thomerson said the recently hiring of two part-time employees will allow for the additional staffing.

Because it is unmanned, Thomerson said, the city has been having a problem with materials, such as tires, tire rims, car transmissions, furniture and washing machines, being dumped illegally.

"Anything somebody's got to get rid of and they don't want to pay for," Thomerson said.

He said nearly every day staff members spend time in the morning picking up those items, which are usually dumped in the same area as grass clippings.

"The staff continue to spend about an hour and a half to hours a day cleaning foreign debris from the yard waste area," Thomerson said.

The station does accept those items, but only when a staff member is on duty. The person dropping off the item is, however, charged $3 if it is less than 100 pounds. If it is more, the cost is prorated at a rate of $53 per ton.

Residents aren't charged when they drop off grass clippings and other yard waste, however, the city does add a $1 fee to a resident's utility bill for the service, Thomerson said.

Another change Thomerson has planned includes keeping a better record of the amount of grass clippings being disposed of at the facility. For the most part, Thomerson said, a contractor picks up the clippings, but he said there are some residents who also pick them up for use in their gardens.

Thomerson had originally proposed to weigh every car coming into the facility, but he changed that plan after concerns were addressed by the council.

Councilman Joe Held said he thought the idea of weighing each car would create a bottleneck of traffic and turn people away from using the facility.

"I don't want it to not be a user friendly facility," he said.

Held suggested the staff weigh cars that are leaving with grass clippings.

Thomerson said he had every intention of making the facility user friendly. He said he liked Held's suggestion and has already begun to implement it.

Additionally, Thomerson said, staff will continue to review operations and make changes as necessary, especially the hours, which he said will be the biggest change.

"We will do everything we can to make it as user friendly as it can be," he said.