Budget-cutting measures dominated the Redwood Falls City Council’s Tuesday meeting, with the annual spring clean up taking a hit this year.
At the previous council meeting, the councilors asked the streets department to draw up an estimate of how much the city could save by canceling the annual clean-up of lawn debris.
Public Works Project Coordinator Jim Doering said that, based on past years’ costs, canceling the clean up this year would save the city $4,840 in operating costs.
City Councilor Jim Sandgren said, “This is a savings of less than $5,000, but that’s how far the city is having to go to make the budget cuts.”
“When we’re facing nearly $600,000 in LGA cuts this year, every $5,000 becomes a lot,” said Mayor Gary Revier.
Last year, 30 truckloads of leaves and 95 loads from the Tymco Sweeper were deposited in the city compost pile.
This year, city residents will be responsible for delivering the material to the compost pile themselves.
The councilors arrived at a decision after councilor Mike Salmon suggested canceling the spring clean-up this year as an experiment.
“If we do cut it, I want to hear feedback from the streets department about any problems it causes,” said Salmon. “I’m willing to try it for a year and see what ramifications there are.”
“There is a strong feeling among the staff to continue with the autumn clean-up this year,” said City Administrator Keith Muetzel, adding the autumn clean-up is more important for keeping the sewer systems clean the rest of the year.
The council set up a special meeting on Tuesday, March 23, at 4:30 p.m. to discuss further budget-cutting measures.
In other city news, the council:
• Accepted a motion to make the fitness center at the Redwood Area Community Center a 24/7 facility.
Although adding the necessary security measures will cost the city almost $12,000, the city will save money in the long run by being able to eliminate part-time staffing on evenings and weekends.
• Approved the purchase of new wireless electronic scoreboards at Westside and Johnson softball fields.
The scoreboards, to cost $12,908, are to be paid for by a joint account between the city and the Redwood Falls Adult Softball Association, and does not impact the city’s budget, given the money was already set aside for that purpose.
• Approved the final $4,750 equipment purchase to close out the Redwood Falls Aquatic Center project. Again, this does not affect the city’s 2010 budget since the funding was already set aside for this purchase.
• Approved a liquor license application for Fibber McGee’s LLC, a new limited liability corporation to operate in the Redwood Falls Golf Club.
